白龙马
The White Dragon Horse
Name: ________________ Date: ________
那是一条白龙！它从山涧里一下子冲了出来，张开大嘴，向唐僧扑过来。悟空赶紧丢下行李，抱起唐僧就跑。等他们回头一看，那条龙已经把白马和马鞍一起吞进了肚子里，又钻回水里去了。
唐僧吓坏了，过了半天才问：“我的马呢？”悟空用火眼金睛向四周看了又看，哪里都没有白马的影子，这才明白，马已经被那条龙吃掉了。这个地方叫蛇盘山鹰愁涧。唐僧坐在地上哭了：“没有了马，这千山万水，我怎么走得过去啊？”悟空最怕看见唐僧哭，大声说：“师父别哭，我这就去叫它把马还回来！”
他跳到水边，大骂：“哪里来的小泥鳅，快还我的马！”那条龙听了非常生气，跳出水来，和悟空打了起来。可是它哪里是悟空的对手？没过多久，它就打不过了，逃回水里，再也不肯出来了。悟空用金箍棒把水搅得乱七八糟，龙还是躲在下面不出来。
悟空没办法，只好把当地的山神和土地公叫了出来。土地公说：“大圣，这条涧里有无数个洞，洞洞相通，它往洞里一钻，谁也找不到。这条龙是观音菩萨放在这里的，他在这里等取经人。只有菩萨能让他出来。”一直在偷偷保护唐僧的神仙听了，赶紧去南海请观音菩萨。不久，观音菩萨就来了。
悟空一见观音，就不高兴地说：“你给我戴上这个金箍，让唐僧天天念咒管着我。现在又让这条小白龙吃了唐僧的马！”观音笑着说：“你这猴子，不管着你，你会听谁的？这条小白龙是西海龙王的三儿子。他烧了父亲宫里的明珠，被父亲告到天上，差点儿被处死。是我救了他，让他在这里等着给取经人当马。东方的普通马，怎么能走过这千山万水，走到西天呢？”
观音让人到涧边叫了一声，小白龙就从水里出来，变成人的样子，向菩萨拜了拜。他说：“菩萨，我一直在这里等取经人，可是这只猴子从来没说过，他是取经人的徒弟啊！”悟空这才不说话了。观音从他的下巴下面取出一颗明珠，又用柳枝蘸了一点儿瓶子里的水，往他身上一洒，喊了一声：“变！”小白龙一下子就变成了一匹白马，和原来那匹一模一样。观音对他说：“你要好好地驮着唐僧去西天。等你完成了这件大事，自然会有你的好处。”白马点点头，答应了。唐僧看见这匹新的白马，又高兴又感谢，向观音拜了又拜。
悟空拉着观音不放，说：“西天的路这么难走，我不去了！”观音说：“你别怕，我再送你一个本领。”她摘下三片柳叶，放在悟空的脑后，变成了三根救命的毫毛，说：“以后遇到真正的危险，就用它们，它们能救你的命。”悟空这才高兴起来，牵着白龙马回到了唐僧身边。
现在，师父有了马，也有了徒弟，还有一件比一个国家还贵的袈裟。可是，正是这件袈裟，马上就要引来一场大火。
Key words
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 白 | bái | white |
| 龙 | lóng | dragon |
| 冲 | chōng | to rush; to charge |
| 四周 | sìzhōu | all around; surroundings |
| 骂 | mà | to scold; to curse; to swear at |
| 对手 | duìshǒu | opponent; rival |
| 躲 | duǒ | to hide |
| 当地 | dāngdì | local; in the locality |
| 无数 | wúshù | countless; innumerable |
| 洞 | dòng | hole; cave |
| 猴子 | hóuzi | monkey |
| 烧 | shāo | to cook; to roast; to stew (as in 烧鹅, 红烧) |
English (for the teacher)
It was a white dragon! It shot up out of the gorge, opened its huge jaws and lunged at the Tang Monk. Wukong quickly dropped the luggage, picked up his master and ran. When they looked back, the dragon had swallowed the white horse, saddle and all, in one gulp, and slipped back into the water.
The Tang Monk was too frightened to speak. After a long while he asked: "Where's my horse?" Wukong looked all around with his fiery golden eyes, but there was no sign of the white horse anywhere, and only then did he understand that the dragon had eaten it. This place was called Eagle Grief Stream, on Coiling Snake Mountain. The Tang Monk sat on the ground and wept: "Without a horse, how will I ever cross all these mountains and rivers?" Wukong hated nothing more than seeing his master cry, and said loudly: "Don't cry, Master. I'll go and make it give the horse back right now!"
He jumped to the water's edge and yelled: "You little mud-loach, wherever you came from, give me back my horse!" The dragon was furious. It leapt out of the water and started fighting Wukong. But how could it be a match for Wukong? Before long it was beaten, fled back into the water and refused to come out again. Wukong churned the water into chaos with his golden-hooped staff, but the dragon still hid below and wouldn't come out.
Wukong had no choice but to call out the local mountain god and earth god. The earth god said: "Great Sage, this stream is full of holes that all connect, and once he slips into one, nobody can find him. Guanyin put this dragon here. He is waiting here for the pilgrim. Only she can make him come out." When the gods who were secretly guarding the Tang Monk heard this, they hurried off to the South Sea to ask Guanyin to come. Before long, Guanyin arrived.
As soon as Wukong saw Guanyin, he complained: "You put this golden band on me so the Tang Monk can keep me in line with that spell every day. And now you've let this little white dragon eat the Tang Monk's horse!" Guanyin smiled and said: "You monkey, if no one kept you in line, whom would you ever listen to? This little white dragon is the third son of the West Sea Dragon King. He burned the bright pearls in his father's palace, and his father reported him to heaven, so he was nearly put to death. I saved him and had him wait here to be the pilgrim's horse. How could an ordinary horse from the East cross all these mountains and rivers and reach the Western Heaven?"
Guanyin had someone call out over the stream, and the little white dragon came out of the water, took human form and bowed to her. He said: "Bodhisattva, I've been waiting here for the pilgrim all along, but this monkey never once said he was the pilgrim's disciple!" That finally shut Wukong up. Guanyin took a bright pearl from under his chin, dipped a willow branch into the water in her vase, sprinkled it over him and called out: "Change!" At once the little white dragon turned into a white horse, exactly like the old one. Guanyin said to him: "Carry the Tang Monk to the West well and faithfully. When you have finished this great task, you will be rewarded." The white horse nodded and agreed. When the Tang Monk saw the new white horse, he was happy and grateful, and bowed to Guanyin again and again.
Wukong held on to Guanyin and wouldn't let her go: "The road to the West is so hard, I'm not going!" Guanyin said: "Don't worry. I'll give you one more power." She picked three willow leaves and put them on the back of Wukong's head, where they turned into three life-saving hairs, and said: "Later, when you're in real danger, use them. They can save your life." Only then did Wukong cheer up, and he led the White Dragon Horse back to his master.
Now the master had a horse, a disciple — and a cassock worth more than a whole kingdom. But that very cassock was about to bring on a great fire.