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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
Hello,
This is Richard and I am here with the next installment1 of our new series about Theo the Monkey. You may recall that in the previous story, a boy called Neet discovered a monkey in his garden. He fed him fruit. As the news was full of reports of monkeys carrying out crimes, he asked his kung fu teacher, Sifu Stan, what he should do. Sifu climbed up a tree and spoke3 to the monkey. He had a gut4 feeling that the animal was on the side of good so he invited him to come to a special kung fu class.
At ten to six Neet left his home wearing his white kung fu uniform with a green belt and one stripe. He walked over to the village hall where Sifu was opening the door.
“Have you seen the monkey?” asked Sifu.
“I think he’s coming on his own,” replied Neet.
While they waited, Neet practiced his kung fu routines known as Tao Lu. His kicks, turns and punches were all in a precise sequence. Sifu helped him adjust his poise5 and stance. At about twenty past six, Sifu said:
“Looks like our monkey friend is a no-show.” He took his mobile phone out of his kit6 bag. Neet thought it was an odd thing to do. The monkey was hardly likely to send Sifu a text saying: “Sorry, running a bit late today.” But looking at his phone was a habit in moments of uncertainty7. He glanced at a news flash:
“City police recruit monkey task force. The Mayor says: “Let’s use monkey cops to fight monkey robbers.”
“Are you sorry you trusted him?” asked Neet.
“No,” said Sifu. “It is never wrong to give someone a chance. Besides, there is a story about a monkey that I have loved ever since I was about your age, or even younger. In fact, it is what got me into kung fu in the first place. So you can see why I was intrigued9 by your friend.”
“Really?” asked Neet with enthusiasm. It was clear that he was keen to hear the story.
“I’ll tell you what,” said Sifu. “Let us sit down, and I will try to recall as much of the legend as I can while we wait.”
“Brilliant,” said Neet.
And this is the story that Sifu Stan related.
Long ago, on the island of Fruit and Flowers, a smooth stone shaped like an egg sat on the peak of the central mountain. One day the egg began to glow and then to wobble, and then to click, and at last to hatch. And out of its shell sprang a monkey. The monkey crawled around for while, and then stood up and bowed to the four spheres. Beams of light shone from his eyes and reached the heavens where the Jade10 Emperor holds his court.
A messenger said:
And the Jade Emperor replied:
“Things that happen on earth are beneath us. Let them be.”
When the monkey had finished his bows, he scratched his head and his left armpit, before running down the mountainside in search of friends. He found other monkeys in the woods. They played all day and ate well. One day they were splashing in the river by a waterfall. The monkey who had been born from a stone walked through the wall of tumbling water and found, inside the rock, an entire palace. He called to the other monkeys to follow him. They ran inside, knocking over chairs and throwing golden bowls around like balls.
“Hey you lot,” called out the Stone Monkey. “If you are going to live in my palace, you have to learn to behave. Now tidy up those things right now or get out!”
And from that day on, he became their leader. He had many titles. His least favourite was ‘The Stone Monkey’ and if you called him this, he became angry. The one he chose for himself was ‘The Handsome Monkey King,’ and if you called him that, you would find favour with him.
After he had ruled for 400 years the Monkey King was still enjoying life, and wanted his fun to go on and on forever. He wondered how he could become immortal12 like the gods. A wise monkey, who was even older than he was, advised him to leave the island and go in search for his own Sifu who could set him on the path to immortality13.
The Monkey King sailed the seas on a raft made from palm trees and then travelled overland until he came to the mountain of Heart and Mind. Here, in the divine cave of Three Stars, he met his Sifu, The Supreme14 Subodhi. For ten years he served the master, meditating15, chanting mantras, practicing kung fu, and studying the scriptures16. He learned to change his shape and size into 72 different forms, such as a tree, a bird, a tiger, or a mosquito. He learned how to jump through the skies from cloud to cloud, travelling 108,000 miles in a single leap. And he learned to breath in the same way that the immortals17 do. But the monkey could not help being a monkey, and he liked to show off his magical skills to his classmates and brag18 that he was better than all the rest. Eventually Subodhi grew angry with all his tricks which caused him to banish19 the monkey from the cave.
As he leapt across the clouds, he was on the lookout20 for a weapon worthy21 of his powers. He looked down and saw the Dragon King of the Eastern Sea measuring the depth of the ocean with a giant rod. The Monkey King recognised it as the weapon he had always wanted, and dived down into the water. Far beneath the waves he entered the Dragon King’s palace, where he asked the ruler of the Eastern Sea for the gift of a celestial22 weapon.
“A monkey like you won’t be able to pick it up!” laughed the king. But the monkey lifted the giant rod with ease, and began to play with it.
“What kind of monkey is this?” thought the Dragon King.
“Let me have your suit of golden armor,” demanded the monkey. And although the suit had magical powers, and was a prized possession, the Dragon King granted the gift because he was afraid of his strange and powerful visitor.
The Monkey King kept the iron rod behind his ear, for he used his magical powers to shrink it to the size of a needle. But when he needed the weapon it grew into an enormous size. At last he had the force that he wanted.
He returned to the island of Fruit and Flowers where he declared:
“The laws of Heaven and Earth no longer apply to me.”
But after he fell asleep, he felt giant chains wrapping around him and dragging him down into the underworld.
“But I’m not meant to die. I’m immortal!” screamed the Monkey King. When he reached the land of the dead, and came before the king of that dark and dreary23 place, custom held that he should bow down and be humble24. But was having none of that. Instead, he brought out his weapon and put on a demonstration26 of his kung fu skills. He flew through the air and spun27 his giant weapon at great speed. The King of the Underworld was afraid, and decided28 to release him. Before leaving, the monkey thumbed through the Book of the Living and Dead and crossed out his own name and those of the monkeys on his island, making sure that they became immortal.
These deeds brought the monkey fame, but they also made him enemies. The Dragon King of the Eastern Seas and the King of the Underworld travelled to the heavenly court of the Jade Emperor to complain of the monkey’s arrogant29 behaviour. The Emperor consulted with his advisers30 and decided to invite the monkey to Heaven to serve at court, where they could keep an eye on him. At first The Monkey King accepted the invitation as an honour, but when he discovered that his title at court was ‘Keeper of the Emperor’s Stables’, he was insulted.
“So ‘The Handsome Monkey King’ has become a stable boy!” he declared. “Is this your idea of a promotion31?” And to show his fury, he kicked up a whole heap of trouble in Heaven. He set free the cloud horses, stole the Emperor’s celestial wine, ate the pills of longevity32, and picked the peaches of immortality, before returning to his home where he awarded himself a new title, ‘The Great Sage33 Equal of Heaven.’ Comparing himself to Heaven was arrogant. It was like a declaration of war. The Jade Emperor sent a celestial army to invade The Island of Fruit and Flowers but the Monkey King repelled34 the heavenly warriors35 without even calling on his monkey followers36 for help.
Next the Jade Emperor employed the most powerful buddhist37 and taoist monks38 to use the force of meditation39. Their combined concentration of mindfulness overcame the monkey. They placed the captive in a cauldron with the aim of distilling40 his body down and recovering the pills of longevity. After 49 days they unceiled the cauldron and out lept the monkey unharmed, in fact stronger, although from that day on his eyes were extra sensitive to smoke.
Now the monkey was more angry and more powerful than ever. He kicked over the cauldron, ran amok, and wreaked41 havoc42 across Heaven. At last the Emperor begged the Buddha43 himself to use his infinite powers to tame the troublemaker44. The Buddha bet the monkey that he would not be able to jump out of the palm of his hand. As the monkey was used to covering 120,000 miles in one leap, he thought that he would win the bet easily. He accepted the challenge and sprang into the Buddha’s palm. Then he took a great leap toward the five pillars at the end of the world. He arrived in a trice only to discover that the pillars were in fact the fingers of the Buddha’s hand. He was trapped.
The monkey spent 500 years imprisoned45 under a mountain. But there came a time when a buddhist monk2 was travelling to India to recover the Sutra or Sacred texts and thus to release countless46 souls from the Underworld. It was a dangerous journey and he needed protection from demons25 who would attack him on the way. The Buddha released the Monkey King but made him wear a helmet which would cause him immense pain if he misbehaved, and the monkey set out on the great journey to the west with the monk, fighting all manner of ghosts and monsters on the way.
“But that,” said Sifu Stan, “is a story for another day.”
Theo was now 50 minutes late for the lesson. “I suppose it was silly to expect a monkey to be reliable.”
“I never saw him as a villain,” said Sifu. “But it is true that he wasn’t very good at doing what he was told. Perhaps he is neither good or bad, but he is a free spirit that stops the world being too ordered, and makes life interesting.”
Neet nodded, though he would have preferred a straight answer as to whether he was good or bad.
Sifu again flicked48 over the headlines on his phone. Monkeys were still all over the news and events were moving swiftly. He read:
And:
“Police monkeys in punch-up with criminals. ”
And more simply:
Sifu tapped the screen of his phone: “So that’s where he is,” he said, and he showed it to Neet.
The photographer had caught the monkey’s face with his mouth wide open as he bared his teeth. He looked like a scary beast. But there was no mistaking who he was. That was the monkey who was living in their woods. He was the monkey they had been waiting for. And he was the monkey who was top of the police’s most wanted list.
“Well, there is not much point in waiting here any longer,” said Sifu. “Now we know he is up in the city causing trouble.”
He put his coat on over his kung fu uniform and headed for the door of the village hall. Neet followed him.
“Sifu,” said Neet. “Do you still want to teach the monkey kung fu?”
“It does not seem like such a good idea any more, does it,” replied Sifu, with a look of annoyance51, probably at himself more than anyone else.
And Neet went home wondering if the monkey would be sitting on the fence of his garden the next morning expecting a fruit breakfast, and he also pondered if he should give it to him.
Image by Shutterstock
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1
installment
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| n.(instalment)分期付款；(连载的)一期 | |
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2
monk
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| n.和尚，僧侣，修道士 | |
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spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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4
gut
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| n.[pl.]胆量；内脏；adj.本能的；vt.取出内脏 | |
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5
poise
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| vt./vi. 平衡，保持平衡；n.泰然自若，自信 | |
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kit
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| n.用具包，成套工具；随身携带物 | |
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7
uncertainty
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| n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物 | |
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serene
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| adj. 安详的，宁静的，平静的 | |
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9
intrigued
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| adj.好奇的，被迷住了的v.搞阴谋诡计(intrigue的过去式)；激起…的兴趣或好奇心；“intrigue”的过去式和过去分词 | |
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10
jade
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| n.玉石；碧玉；翡翠 | |
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11
majesty
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| n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权 | |
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12
immortal
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| adj.不朽的；永生的，不死的；神的 | |
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13
immortality
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| n.不死，不朽 | |
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14
supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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15
meditating
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| a.沉思的，冥想的 | |
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16
scriptures
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| 经文，圣典( scripture的名词复数 )； 经典 | |
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17
immortals
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| 不朽的人物( immortal的名词复数 )； 永生不朽者 | |
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18
brag
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| v./n.吹牛，自夸；adj.第一流的 | |
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banish
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| vt.放逐，驱逐；消除，排除 | |
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20
lookout
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| n.注意，前途，瞭望台 | |
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21
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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22
celestial
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| adj.天体的；天上的 | |
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23
dreary
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| adj.令人沮丧的，沉闷的，单调乏味的 | |
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24
humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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25
demons
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| n.恶人( demon的名词复数 )；恶魔；精力过人的人；邪念 | |
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26
demonstration
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| n.表明，示范，论证，示威 | |
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27
spun
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| v.纺，杜撰，急转身 | |
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28
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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29
arrogant
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| adj.傲慢的，自大的 | |
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30
advisers
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| 顾问，劝告者( adviser的名词复数 )； （指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授 | |
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31
promotion
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| n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传 | |
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32
longevity
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| n.长命；长寿 | |
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33
sage
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| n.圣人，哲人；adj.贤明的，明智的 | |
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34
repelled
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| v.击退( repel的过去式和过去分词 )；使厌恶；排斥；推开 | |
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35
warriors
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| 武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
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followers
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| 追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件 | |
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Buddhist
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| adj./n.佛教的，佛教徒 | |
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38
monks
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| n.修道士，僧侣( monk的名词复数 ) | |
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39
meditation
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| n.熟虑，（尤指宗教的）默想，沉思，（pl.）冥想录 | |
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40
distilling
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| n.蒸馏（作用）v.蒸馏( distil的过去式和过去分词 )( distilled的过去分词 )；从…提取精华 | |
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41
wreaked
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| 诉诸（武力），施行（暴力），发（脾气）( wreak的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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42
havoc
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| n.大破坏，浩劫，大混乱，大杂乱 | |
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43
Buddha
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| n.佛；佛像；佛陀 | |
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44
troublemaker
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| n.惹是生非者，闹事者，捣乱者 | |
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45
imprisoned
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| 下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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46
countless
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| adj.无数的，多得不计其数的 | |
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47
villain
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| n.反派演员，反面人物；恶棍；问题的起因 | |
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48
flicked
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| （尤指用手指或手快速地）轻击( flick的过去式和过去分词 )； （用…）轻挥； （快速地）按开关； 向…笑了一下（或瞥了一眼等） | |
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49
brawl
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| n.大声争吵，喧嚷；v.吵架，对骂 | |
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50
vengeance
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| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
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51
annoyance
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| n.恼怒，生气，烦恼 | |
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