美猴王
The Handsome Monkey King
Name: ________________ Date: ________
很久很久以前，东边的大海上有一座山，叫花果山。山上有一块很大的石头。白天，它看太阳；晚上，它看月亮。很多很多年过去了，这块石头好像慢慢地“活”了。
有一天，只听“啪”的一声，石头开了！里面出来一个石蛋。风一吹，石蛋变成了一只石猴。这只石猴刚出生，就能走路，也能爬树。它向东、南、西、北四个方向都拜了拜。
突然，两道金光从它的眼睛里飞出来，一直飞到天上。玉皇大帝在天上看见了，觉得很奇怪。他马上叫来千里眼和顺风耳：“你们去看看，那是什么光？”千里眼的眼睛看得很远，顺风耳的耳朵听得很远。他们看了一会儿，回来说：“没什么，只是一只石猴。等它吃点东西，喝点水，金光就会慢慢不见的。”玉皇大帝点点头：“好，那就不用担心了。”他还不知道，这只石猴以后会给他带来多大的麻烦。
后来，石猴一直住在花果山。山上有很多猴子，它们都是石猴的好朋友。饿了，大家就吃树上的水果；累了，就到山洞里睡觉。每天一起爬树、玩水，玩得很开心。
有一年夏天，天气特别热。大家都跳到小河里洗澡，玩得很高兴。有个小猴子问：“这条河的水是从哪儿来的？”大家说：“走，我们去看看！”他们就一直往上走，走了很久，看见了一个很大的瀑布。水从很高的山上下来，声音很大很大。
有个年纪很大的猴子说：“谁敢跳进去，再好好地回来，谁就是我们的王！”大家你看看我，我看看你，谁也不敢去。这时，石猴跳了出来，大声说：“我来！”他闭上眼睛，往前一跳，就跳进了瀑布里。
他看了看，奇怪，这里一点儿水也没有！前面有一座铁桥。过了桥，是一个很大的石洞，像一个家。里面有床，有锅，有碗，都是石头做的，还有很多花和树。墙上写着十个字：“花果山福地，水帘洞洞天。”他高兴地说：“我们大家都能住在这里！”
他又跳了回去，笑着对大家说：“里面是个好地方，快跟我来！”大家一个一个都跳了进去，看了以后，都高兴得跳了起来。石猴站在最高的地方，问：“你们刚才说过什么，还记得吗？”大家马上一起向他拜了拜，说：“您是我们的王！”最后，石猴给自己起了一个新名字：美猴王。
美猴王在花果山开开心心地过了几百年。可是有一天，大家正在一起吃饭，美猴王突然哭了。为什么呢？他看着身边的朋友一天比一天老，想到了一件让他害怕的事。
Key words
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 久 | jiǔ | long (time) |
| 以前 | yǐqián | before; previously; formerly |
| 山 | shān | mountain; hill |
| 一块 | yíkuài | a piece; a lump |
| 太阳 | tàiyáng | sun |
| 月亮 | yuèliang | the moon |
| 风 | fēng | wind |
| 变成 | biànchéng | to change into; to turn into; to become |
| 出生 | chūshēng | to be born; birth |
| 爬 | pá | to climb |
| 树 | shù | tree |
| 东 | dōng | east |
English (for the teacher)
A long, long time ago, on the great sea to the east, there was a mountain called Flower Fruit Mountain. On the mountain there was a very big stone. By day it looked at the sun; at night it looked at the moon. Many, many years went by, and the stone slowly seemed to come "alive".
Then one day, with a loud crack, the stone split open! Out came a stone egg. The wind blew, and the stone egg turned into a stone monkey. The stone monkey had only just been born, but it could already walk and climb trees. It bowed to all four directions: east, south, west and north.
Suddenly, two beams of golden light flew out of its eyes, all the way up to the sky. The Jade Emperor saw it up in heaven and thought it very strange. At once he called Thousand-Mile Eye and Wind-Following Ear: "Go and take a look. What is that light?" Thousand-Mile Eye's eyes could see very far, and Wind-Following Ear's ears could hear very far. They looked for a while, then came back and said: "It's nothing, just a stone monkey. Once it eats a little and drinks some water, the golden light will slowly go away." The Jade Emperor nodded: "Good, then there's nothing to worry about." He had no idea how much trouble this stone monkey would bring him one day.
After that, the stone monkey lived on Flower Fruit Mountain. There were lots of monkeys on the mountain, and they were all the stone monkey's good friends. When they were hungry, they ate fruit from the trees; when they were tired, they went to sleep in the caves. Every day they climbed trees and played in the water together, and had a wonderful time.
One summer, the weather was especially hot. Everyone jumped into the little river to bathe and had great fun. A little monkey asked: "Where does the water in this river come from?" Everyone said: "Come on, let's go and see!" So they kept going up and up, walked for a long time, and came to a huge waterfall. The water came down from high on the mountain, and the sound was very, very loud.
A very old monkey said: "Whoever dares to jump in and come back safe and sound will be our king!" Everyone looked at each other, and nobody dared to go. Just then the stone monkey jumped out and shouted: "I'll go!" He closed his eyes, leapt forward, and jumped right into the waterfall.
He looked around: how strange, there wasn't a drop of water here! In front of him was an iron bridge. Across the bridge was a huge stone cave, just like a home. Inside there were beds, pots and bowls, all made of stone, and lots of flowers and trees too. On the wall were ten characters: "Flower Fruit Mountain, blessed land; Water Curtain Cave, heaven in a cave." He said happily: "All of us can live here!"
He jumped back out and said to everyone with a laugh: "It's a great place in there. Quick, follow me!" One by one everyone jumped in, and when they saw it, they jumped for joy. The stone monkey stood in the highest spot and asked: "Do you remember what you said just now?" At once they all bowed to him together and said: "You are our king!" Last of all, the stone monkey gave himself a new name: the Handsome Monkey King.
The Handsome Monkey King lived happily on Flower Fruit Mountain for hundreds of years. But one day, while they were all eating together, the Handsome Monkey King suddenly began to cry. Why? He looked at his friends around him, older every day, and thought of something that frightened him.