NYC Weather
84 ° SUNNY

Saturday, August 25, 2007
Last Update: 06:15 PM EDT




 
Story Index Summer of '77
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Post An Ad Marketplace Autos Dating Jobs Real Estate
Sports Blogs Fashion Harry Potter Movies Make Us Rich Real Estate Travel Tempo TV Video Games Health: IVF Weight Loss Intern Stories
Past Editions Archives AvantGo Classroom Extra Coupons E-Edition Past Editions Liberty Medals Parade Magazine Site Map Special Sections Story Index Tempo Weekend Guide
News Home Columnists Local National International Weird But True NYPD Blotter Traffic & Transit Lottery
Hopstop MTA Advisories

THE MONKEY KING

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: WHAT HAPPENED TO MONKEY KING

Loading new images...

July 27, 2007 -- Adopted From the Classic Chinese Tale by Ji-li Jiang

Illustrated by Hui Hui Su-Kennedy

STORY SO FAR: Unrepentant, indestructible, and still a troublemaker, Monkey is given one chance to prove himself by the Great Buddha.

BUDDHA looked at Monkey and softly said, ?You say you can jump. If you can jump out of the palm of my hand in one somersault, I shall let you rule Heaven. But if you fail, you must accept my punishment. Do you agree??

Monkey could hardly believe his ears. ?I just told him I could jump one hundred and eight thousand leagues!? he said to himself. ?Perhaps Buddha is hard of hearing. He must be foolish indeed to make such a bet with me.?

?If I do what you ask, will you keep your promise?? Monkey asked out loud.

?Oh yes, we have many witnesses here.?

?And this is an honest deal?? Monkey demanded.

?As honest as I can be,? returned Buddha with a smile. ?Do you agree??

?Of course I agree,? Monkey replied with a laugh. ?Any fool would.?

Calmly, Buddha held out his hand. Monkey climbed into his palm. He stretched his legs and arms and wiggled all his fingers and toes. Then, just as he had done so many years ago at the great waterfall, he crouched down, closed his eyes, took a deep breath and leaped with all his might.

After a long moment he landed on his feet, quite certain he had gone at least one hundred and eight thousand leagues away from where he had started.

After all, in front of him was an unfamiliar landscape, a boundless flat plain with five pillars soaring straight into the sky. Monkey walked about, looking for landmarks, but he couldn?t find anything telling him where he was.

?Oh well,? he said, ?I must have jumped even farther than I thought! This must be the end of the world. But I suppose it would be a good idea to make a mark to prove I came so far.?

So Monkey plucked a hair from his chest and cried, ?Alalalatola!?

The hair became a paintbrush. Monkey dipped the brush in ink, approached one of the pillars, and wrote, ?Magnificent Monkey King was here.?

Then he cloudsoared back to Heaven, very pleased that he had won his bet with Buddha.


The online center for youth volunteer opportunities in NYC.
News
Sports
Page Six
Business
Entertainment
Post Opinion
TV
Classifieds
Miscellaneous
User Services
sign in subscribeprivacy policyNEWS HEADLINES FROM OUR PARTNERSrss 

NEW YORK POST is a registered trademark of NYP Holdings, Inc. NYPOST.COM, NYPOSTONLINE.COM, and NEWYORKPOST.COM are trademarks of NYP Holdings, Inc.

Copyright 2007 NYP Holdings, Inc. All rights reserved.