Monkey (31 page)

Jasmine and rose perfume the night;

The red peony and tiger-lily bloom in vain,

The hibiscus and Syrian mallow are choked with weeds;

Strange plant and rare flower are crushed and die.’

‘And what does it matter if they do?’ said Pigsy.’ Let’s get on with our business.’

Monkey, although deeply affected by the scene, called to mind Tripitaka’s dream, in which he was told that the well was underneath a banana-plant, and when they had gone a little further they did indeed discover a most singular banana-plant, which grew very thick and high.

‘Now Pigsy,’ said Monkey. ‘Are you ready? The treasure is buried under this tree.’ That fool lifted his rake in both hands, beat down the banana-tree and began to nu2zle with his snout till he had made a hole three or four feet deep. At last he came to a slab of stone. ‘Brother,’ he cried, ‘here’s luck. We’ve found the treasure. It’s bound to be under this slab. If it’s not in a coffer it will be in a jar.’

‘Hoist it up and see,’ said Monkey.

Pigsy went to work again with his snout and raised the slab till they could see underneath. Something sparkled and flashed. ‘Didn’t I say we were in luck,’ said Pigsy. ‘That is the treasure glittering.’ But when they looked closer, it was the light of the stars and moon reflected in a well.

‘Brother,’ said Pigsy, ‘you should not think so much of the trunk that you forget the root.’

‘Now, what does that mean ?’ asked Monkey.

“This is a well,’ said Pigsy. ‘If you had told me before we
started that the treasure was in a well, I should have brought with me the two ropes we tie up our bundles with, and you could have contrived to let me down. As it is, how are we to get at anything down there and bring it up again ?’

‘You intend to go down ?’ said Monkey.

‘That’s what I should do,’ said Pigsy, ‘if I had any rope.’

‘Take off your clothes,’ said Monkey, ‘and I’ll manage it for you.’

‘I don’t go in for much in the way of clothes,’ said Pigsy. ‘But I’ll take off my jerkin, if that’s any good.’

Dear Monkey! He took out his metal-clasped cudgel, called to it ‘Stretch!’, and when it was some thirty feet long he said to Pigsy, ‘You catch hold of one end, and I’ll let you down.’

‘Brother,’ said Pigsy, ‘let me down as far as you like, so long as you stop when I come to the water.’

‘Just so,’ said Monkey.

Pigsy caught hold of one end of the staff, and was very gently raised and let down into the well by Monkey. He soon reached the water. ‘I’m at the water,’ he called up. Monkey, hearing this, let him down just a little further. That fool Pigsy, when he felt the water touch him, began to beat out with his trotters, let go of the staff and flopped right into the water. ‘The rascal!’ he cried, spluttering and blowing. ‘I told him to stop when I came to the water, and instead he let me down further.’

Monkey only laughed, and withdrew the staff. ‘Brother,’ he said,’ have you found the treasure ?’

‘Treasure indeed!’ said Pigsy. ‘There’s nothing but well-water.’

‘The treasure is under the water,’ said Monkey. ‘Just have a look.’

Pigsy, it so happened, was thoroughly at home in the water. He took a great plunge straight down into the well. But, oh what a long way it was to the bottom! He dived again with all his might, and suddenly opening his eyes saw in front of him an entrance, above which was written ‘The Crystal Palace’. This astonished him very much. ‘That finishes it,’ he cried. ‘I’ve come the wrong way and got into
the sea! There is a Crystal Palace in the sea; but I never heard of one down a well.’ For he did not know that the Dragon King of the Well also has a Crystal Palace.

Pigsy was thus debating with himself when a yaksha, on patrol-duty in the waters, opened the door, saw the intruder, and immediately withdrew to the interior, announcing: ‘Great King, a calamity! A long-snouted, long-eared priest has dropped down into our well, all naked and dripping. He is still alive, and speaks to himself rationally.’

The Dragon King of the Well was, however, not at all surprised. ‘If I am not mistaken,’ he said, ‘this is General Pigsy. Last night the Spirit that Wanders by Night received orders to come here and fetch the soul of the king of Crow-cock and bring it to the priest of T’ang to ask the Monkey Sage to subdue the wicked magician. I imagine that Monkey has come, as well as General Pigsy. They must be treated with great consideration. Go at once and ask the General to come in.’ The Dragon King then tidied his clothes, adjusted his hat, and bringing with him all his watery kinsmen he came to the gate and cried in a loud voice: ‘General Pigsy, pray come inside and be seated!’

Pigsy was delighted. ‘Fancy meeting with an old friend!’ he said. And without thinking what he was in for, that fool went into the Crystal Palace. Caring nothing for good manners, all dripping as he was, he sat down in the seat of honour.

‘General,’ said the Dragon King, ‘I heard lately that your life was spared to you on condition you should embrace the faith of Sakyamuni and protect Tripitaka on his journey to India. What then are you doing down here ?’

‘It’s just in that connexion that I come,’ said Pigsy. ‘My brother Monkey presents his best compliments and sends me to fetch some treasure or other.’

‘I am sorry,’ said the Dragon King, ‘but what should I be doing with any treasure? You’re mixing me up with the dragons of the Yangtze, the Yellow River, the Huai and the Chi, who soar about the sky and assume many shapes. They no doubt have treasures. But I stay down here all the time in this wretched hole never catching a glimpse of the sky above. Where should I get a treasure from ?’

‘Don’t make excuses,’ said Pigsy. ‘I know you have got it; so bring it out at once.’

“The one treasure I have,’ said the Dragon King, ‘can’t be brought out. I suggest you should go and look at it for yourself.’

‘Excellent,’ said Pigsy. ‘I’ll come and have a look.’

The Dragon King led him through the Crystal Palace till they came to a cloister in which lay a body six feet long. Pointing at it the Dragon King said, ‘General, there is your treasure.’ Pigsy went up to it, and ohl what did he see before him ? It was a dead Emperor, on his head a tall crown, dressed in a red gown, on his feet upturned shoes, girded with a belt of jades, who lay stretched full length upon the floor. Pigsy laughed. ‘You won’t kid me like that,’ he said. ‘Since when did this count as a treasure? Why, when I was an ogre in the mountains I made my supper on them every day. When one has not only seen a thing time after time, but also eaten it again and again, can one be expected to regard it as a treasure?’

‘General,’ said the Dragon King, ‘you do not understand. This is the body of the King of Crow-cock. When he fell into the well I preserved him with a magic pearl, and he suffered no decay. If you care to take him up with you, show him to Monkey and succeed in bringing him back to his senses, you need worry no more about “treasures”, you’ll be able to get anything out of him that you choose to ask for.’

‘Very well then,’ said Pigsy, ‘I’ll remove him for you, if you’ll let we know how much I shall get as my undertaker’s fee.’

‘I haven’t got any money,’ said the Dragon King.

‘So you expect to get jobs done for nothing?’ said Pigsy. ‘If you haven’t got any money I won’t remove him.’

‘If you won’t,’ said the Dragon King, ‘I must ask you to go away.’

Pigsy at once retired. The Dragon King ordered two powerful yakshas to carry the body to the gate of the Crystal Palace and leave it just outside. They removed from the gate its water-fending pearls, and at once there was a sound of rushing waters! Pigsy looked round. The gate had vanished,
and while he was poking about for it, his hand touched the dead king’s body, which gave him such a start that his legs gave way under him. He scrambled to the surface of the water, and squeezing against the well-wall, he cried, ‘Brother, let down your staff and get me out of this.’

‘Did you find the treasure ?’ asked Monkey.

‘How should I?’ said Pigsy. ‘All I found was a Dragon King at the bottom of the water, who wanted me to remove a corpse. I refused, and he had me put out at the door. Then his palace vanished, and I found myself touching the corpse. It gave me such a turn that I feel quite weak. Brother, you must get me out of this.’

‘That was your treasure,’ said Monkey. ‘Why didn’t you bring it up with you ?’

‘I knew he had been dead a long time,’ said Pigsy. ‘What was the sense of bringing him ?’

‘You’d better,’ said Monkey,’ or I shall go away.’

‘Go ?’ said Pigsy.’ Where to ?’

‘I shall go back to the temple,’ said Monkey, ‘and go to sleep like Tripitaka.’

‘And I shall be left down here ?’ said Pigsy.

‘If you can climb out,’ said Monkey, ‘there is no reason why you should stay here; but if you can’t there’s an end of it.’

Pigsy was thoroughly frightened; he knew he could not possibly climb out. ‘Just think,’ he said, ‘even a city wall is difficult to get up. But this well-shaft has a big belly and a small mouth. Its walls slope in, and as no water has been drawn from it for several years they have become all covered with slime. It’s far too slippery to climb. Brother, just to keep up a nice spirit between friends, I’ll carry it up.’

‘That’s right,’ said Monkey. ‘And be quick about it, so that we can both of us go home to bed.’

That fool Pigsy dived down again, found the corpse, hoisted it on to his back, clambered up to the surface of the water, and propped himself and the body against the wall. ‘Brother,’ he called. ‘I’ve brought it.’ Monkey peered down, and seeing that Pigsy had indeed a burden on his back, he lowered his staff into the well.

That fool was a creature of much determination. He opened
his mouth wide, bit hard on the staff, and Monkey pulled him gently up. Putting down the corpse, Pigsy pulled himself into his clothes. The Emperor, Monkey found on examining him, was indeed in the most perfect preservation. ‘Brother,’ he asked, ‘how comes it that a man who has been dead for three years can look so fresh ?’

‘According to the Dragon King of the Well,’ said Pigsy, ‘he used a magic pearl which prevented the body from decaying.’

“That was a bit of luck’ said Monkey. ‘But it still remains to take vengeance upon his enemy and win glory for ourselves. Make haste and carry him off.’

‘Where to ?’ asked Pigsy.

‘To the temple,’ said Monkey, ‘to show him to Tripitaka.’

‘What an idea!’ grumbled Pigsy to himself. ‘A fellow was having a nice, sound sleep, and along comes this baboon with a wonderful yarn about a job that must be done, and in the end it turns out to be nothing but this silly game of carting about a corpse. Carry that stinking thing! It will dribble filthy water all over me and dirty my clothes; there’s no one to wash them for me. There are patches in several places, and if the water gets through I have nothing to change into.’

‘Don’t worry about your clothes,’ said Monkey. ‘Get the body to the temple, and I will give you a change of clothes.’

‘Impudence!’ cried Pigsy. ‘You’ve none of your own. How can you give me any to change into ?’

‘Does that twaddle mean that you won’t carry it?’ asked Monkey.

‘I’m not going to carry it,’ said Pigsy.

‘Then hold out your paw and take twenty,’ said Monkey.

‘Brother,’ said Pigsy, much alarmed, ‘that cudgel is very heavy; after twenty strokes of it there would not be much to choose between me and this Emperor.’

‘If you don’t want to be beaten,’ said Monkey, ‘make haste and carry it off.’

Pigsy did indeed fear the cudgel, and sorely against his will he hoisted the corpse on to his back and began to drag himself along towards the garden gate. Dear Monkey! He performed a magic pass, recited a spell, traced a magic square on the
ground, and going to it blew a breath that turned into a great gust of wind which blew Pigsy clean out of the palace grounds and clear of the city moat. The wind stopped, and alighting they set out slowly on their way. Pigsy was feeling very ill-used and thought of a plan to revenge himself. ‘This monkey,’ he said to himself ‘has played a dirty trick on me, but I’ll get even with him all right when we get back to the temple, I will tell Tripitaka that Monkey can bring the dead to life. If he says he can’t, I shall persuade Tripitaka to recite the spell that makes this monkey’s head ache, and I shan’t be satisfied till his brains are bursting out of his head.’ But thinking about it as he went along, he said to himself, ‘That’s no good! If he is asked to bring the king to life, he won’t have any difficulty; he will go straight to Yama, King of Death, ask for the soul, and so bring the king to life. I must make it clear that he is not to go to the Dark Realm, but must do his cure here in the World of Light. That’s the thing to do.’

They were now at the temple gate, went straight in, and put down the corpse at the door of the Zen Hall, saying, ‘Master, get up and look!’ Tripitaka was not asleep, but was discussing with Sandy why the others were away so long. Suddenly he heard them calling, and jumping up he said, ‘Disciples, what is this I see ?’

‘Monkey’s father-in-law,’ said Pigsy; ‘he made me carry him.’

‘You rotten fool,’ said Monkey, ‘where have I any father-in-law ?’