THE MONKEY KING
CHAPTER ONE: MONKEY IS BORN
July 5, 2007 -- Adopted From the Classic Chinese Tale by Ji-li Jiang
Illustrated by Hui Hui Su-Kennedy
Thousands of years ago in China, in the province of Ao-lai, there stood a towering mountain the Mountain of Flowers and Fruits.
At the very top of this mountain, perfectly balanced on its needle peak, was a rock as big as a castle, half-hidden by a thick and pearly mist.
One night a terrible storm exploded over the mountain. Never had there been such a storm! Bolts of lightning streaked across the sky. Thunder crashed. Winds howled. Torrents of rain pelted the mountainside, and the animals living there cowered in terror.
Suddenly there was an enormous blast. CRAAAACK!
The huge rock on the mountaintop split in two and fell to pieces thousands of feet below. But balanced perfectly on the needle peak remained a glossy stone egg, about two feet around and blacker than the stormiest night.
Gradually the storm blew away. The air became calm and peaceful. On the mountaintop the egg remained motionless.
Ninety-nine days passed. On the ninety-ninth night a gust of wind in the shape of a dragon descended upon the mountain. WHOOSH! The dragon wind breathed fire onto the stone egg. At once it erupted into flame. Howling and roaring, the fireball grew until it was nine times larger than its original size.
For nine days and nine nights the egg burned. On the tenth day the fire died out. The egg was split. And there on the very top of the mountain stood a small stone monkey.
For one more day all was still.
But the next day, a gentle breeze came and tickled the stone monkey. And when it did, the monkey's eyes began to twinkle! Then a soft rain came and washed him, and his stone skin changed to silky, golden fur. The sun came out and shone its warmth upon the monkey, and he began to breathe. Slowly he turned his head from side to side. He stretched his arms and legs and wiggled his fingers and toes. Suddenly he jumped up thirty feet into the air, rolled into a perfect somersault and landed on his feet!
