紧箍咒

English (for the teacher)

They were six robbers. The Tang Monk was so frightened he fell off his horse, but Wukong wasn't the least bit afraid. He laughed and said: "Good, I happen to be short of money. Bring out what you've stolen and give me a share too!" The robbers were furious and hacked at his head with their knives, dozens of times, but Wukong wasn't hurt at all. He took the golden-hooped staff out of his ear and, one blow each, killed all six robbers.

The Tang Monk's face went white: "How could you kill people? We monks are afraid even of stepping on an ant, and you've killed six people in one go! Even if they were robbers, they didn't deserve to die. How can you go to the West for the scriptures, behaving like this?" He kept on and on about it all along the road.

Wukong couldn't stand people going on at him without end. He said angrily: "Since you think I can't be a monk and can't get to the West, I'll just go back!" With that he turned a somersault and was gone. The Tang Monk sat alone by the road, sad and lonely.

Wukong flew to the East Sea and went to the dragon palace to have tea with his old friend the East Sea Dragon King. The Dragon King said: "I hear you're free now, Great Sage. Congratulations! But why have you come here instead of protecting your master?" So Wukong told him all about killing the robbers and his master getting angry. Just then he noticed a painting on the wall: an old man sitting on a bridge, his shoe fallen under it, and a young man picking it up for him. The Dragon King said: "That young man is Zhang Liang. Three times the old man threw his shoe under the bridge, and three times Zhang Liang fetched it and politely put it back on him. The old man saw that he was patient, and passed his book on warfare on to him. Zhang Liang later became a great man. Great Sage, if you won't protect the Tang Monk and won't put up with hardship, you'll never be more than a demon immortal." Wukong listened, thought for a long time, and said: "All right, I'll go back!"

While Wukong was away, an old woman had come up to the Tang Monk and given him a robe and a flowered cap. She said: "If that disciple of yours won't behave, have him put on this cap, then recite this spell, and he won't dare disobey you." The spell was called the Tightening Spell, and the Tang Monk recited it several times until he knew it by heart. The old woman turned around, became a ray of golden light and flew off to the east. Only then did the Tang Monk realise she was Guanyin.

When Wukong came back, the Tang Monk said nothing about the cap; he only said he was hungry and told him to get something to eat from the bag. Wukong opened the bag, saw the robe and the flowered cap, and asked: "Where did these come from?" The Tang Monk said: "I wore them when I was little. Put on the cap, and you can chant the scriptures without learning them." As soon as Wukong heard that, he put on the robe and put the cap on his head.

The Tang Monk softly began to recite the Tightening Spell. At once Wukong clutched his head and screamed: "My head! My head!" He rolled about on the ground and tried to pull the cap off, but found the cap was gone. Instead there was a golden band around his head, as if it had grown into his flesh, and however hard he pulled it wouldn't come off.

When the Tang Monk stopped, Wukong's head stopped hurting; when he recited again, Wukong rolled all over the ground in pain. Wukong yelled: "It must be Guanyin who did this to me! I'll go and get her!" The Tang Monk said: "She taught me the spell, so of course she can recite it too." Wukong had no choice but to kneel and say: "Master, I'll never dare do it again. From now on I'll always do as you say!"

From then on Wukong really did behave much better — most of the time, at least. Master and disciple went on west and came to a deep gorge. Suddenly, something huge rose up out of the water…