七十二变
Seventy-Two Changes
Name: ________________ Date: ________
祖师说孙悟空还有很大的危险。孙悟空很担心：“师父，是什么危险？”祖师说：“你学会了长生不老，可是以后，会有雷打你，有火烧你，有风吹你。要想不怕它们，你得再学一个大本事：七十二变。”悟空问：“七十二变是什么？”祖师说：“你想变什么，就能变什么。”悟空听了，高兴地跳了起来。
从那天起，悟空每天都在没人的地方练习。他想变一只鸟，就变成了一只鸟；想变一条鱼，就变成了一条鱼。没过多久，七十二变他就都学会了。
有一天，祖师问他：“悟空，你能飞吗？”悟空说：“我能！”他往上一跳，飞了起来。可是他只飞了一会儿，就慢慢地下来了。祖师笑了：“这不是飞，这是在天上爬！我看你飞的时候，总是一跳一跳的，那我就把筋斗云这个本事教给你吧。”
筋斗云真的很不简单。翻一个筋斗，就能飞十万八千里！学会了筋斗云，悟空高兴极了。
一个夏天的下午，别的学生坐在一棵大松树下聊天。他们看见悟空，就说：“悟空，听说你七十二变都学会了，是真的吗？变一个给我们看看吧！”悟空最喜欢让别人看他的本事了。他问：“变什么呢？”大家说：“就变一棵松树吧！”
悟空说了几句话，一下子就不见了。大家前面，多了一棵高高的松树！大家都拍手大叫：“好猴子！好猴子！”声音越来越大。
这时，祖师走了出来，问：“谁在这里大叫？”大家马上不说话了。松树又变回了悟空。祖师很生气：“悟空，你过来。你的本事是给人看的吗？别人看见你有这个本事，就会来请你教他。你不教，他就会想办法来害你。”
悟空小声说：“师父，我错了，请您原谅我吧！”祖师说：“我不怪你，可是你不能再住在这里了。你从哪里来，就回哪里去吧。”悟空哭了：“师父，我还没有好好谢谢您呢……”
祖师说：“记住，以后你做什么事，都不能说你是我的学生。你说出一个字，我就会知道！”悟空点点头：“我一个字也不说，就说是我自己会的。”
悟空向祖师拜了又拜，然后翻了一个筋斗，飞上了天。一个筋斗十万八千里，很快，他就看见了大海，看见了花果山。他高兴地想：“我回家了！”
可是，他刚到家，就听见了哭声。很多小猴子从山里出来，抱着他哭：“大王，您可回来了！这些年，我们过得好苦啊……”花果山到底出了什么事？
Key words
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 担心 | dānxīn | to worry; to be anxious |
| 以后 | yǐhòu | later; afterwards; in the future |
| 风 | fēng | wind |
| 变 | biàn | to change; to become; change; transformation |
| 跳 | tiào | to jump; to leap |
| 地方 | dìfang | place |
| 练习 | liànxí | to practice; exercise; drill |
| 变成 | biànchéng | to change into; to turn into; to become |
| 简单 | jiǎndān | simple; easy |
| 夏天 | xiàtiān | summer |
| 别的 | biéde | other; else |
| 聊天 | liáotiān | to chat |
English (for the teacher)
The Patriarch had said that Sun Wukong was still in great danger. Sun Wukong was worried: "Master, what danger?" The Patriarch said: "You have learned to live forever, but one day thunder will strike you, fire will burn you and wind will blow at you. To have nothing to fear from them, you must learn one more great skill: the Seventy-Two Changes." Wukong asked: "What are the Seventy-Two Changes?" The Patriarch said: "Whatever you want to change into, you can change into it." When Wukong heard this, he jumped for joy.
From that day on, Wukong practised every day where no one could see him. When he wanted to change into a bird, he changed into a bird; when he wanted to change into a fish, he changed into a fish. Before long, he had learned all seventy-two changes.
One day the Patriarch asked him: "Wukong, can you fly?" Wukong said: "I can!" He jumped up and rose into the air. But he flew for only a little while before he slowly came back down. The Patriarch laughed: "That isn't flying, that's crawling across the sky! I see you always bounce along when you fly, so I'll teach you the skill of the Somersault Cloud."
The Somersault Cloud really is no small thing. With one somersault you can fly a hundred and eight thousand li! Once he had learned the Somersault Cloud, Wukong was over the moon.
One summer afternoon, the other students were sitting under a big pine tree, chatting. When they saw Wukong, they said: "Wukong, we hear you've learned all Seventy-Two Changes. Is it true? Change into something for us to see!" Wukong loved nothing more than having people watch what he could do. He asked: "What shall I change into?" Everyone said: "Change into a pine tree!"
Wukong said a few words, and in a flash he was gone. In front of everyone stood one more tall pine tree! Everyone clapped and shouted: "Good monkey! Good monkey!" The noise grew louder and louder.
Just then the Patriarch came out and asked: "Who is shouting out here?" At once everyone fell silent. The pine tree changed back into Wukong. The Patriarch was very angry: "Wukong, come here. Is your skill something to show off? When others see you have this skill, they'll come and ask you to teach them. If you won't, they'll find a way to harm you."
Wukong said in a small voice: "Master, I was wrong. Please forgive me!" The Patriarch said: "I don't blame you, but you can't live here any longer. Go back to wherever you came from." Wukong wept: "Master, I haven't even thanked you properly yet..."
The Patriarch said: "Remember: from now on, whatever you do, you must never say you are my student. If you say a single word, I will know!" Wukong nodded: "I won't say a word. I'll say I learned it all myself."
Wukong bowed to the Patriarch again and again, then turned a somersault and flew up into the sky. One somersault, a hundred and eight thousand li: very soon he could see the sea, and then Flower Fruit Mountain. He thought happily: "I'm home!"
But just as he got home, he heard crying. Lots of little monkeys came out of the mountain, hugged him and wept: "Your Majesty, you're back at last! These past years have been so hard for us..." What on earth had happened on Flower Fruit Mountain?