A Job in Heaven

Journey to the West 8 A Job in Heaven

The Jade Emperor was sitting on his throne in the Cloud Palace. A messenger ran into the court. “ Your Majesty, ” he said. “ The Dragon King of the Eastern Sea is here to see you. ” “ Let him in, ” said the emperor. The Dragon King entered and bowed. “ Your Majesty, I want to make a complaint. Sun Wukong came to my palace and demanded I give him a weapon. He was very rude. ”

Another messenger came in. “ The Judge of the Dead would like to speak with you, Your Majesty. ” The judge came in and bowed. “ A monkey named Sun Wukong crossed out his name in the Directory. I beg you to punish him! ” The Jade Emperor rubbed his chin. “ Who is this Sun Wukong? And how did he become so powerful?”

The emperor’s captain stepped forward. “ Sun Wukong is the monkey who was born from a rock three hundred years ago. I don’t know how he became so powerful. ” “ I remember him, ” said the Jade Emperor. “ I don’t care how powerful he is. He is causing too much trouble on Earth. Gather some troops, and go down to the Fruit and Flower Mountain. I want Sun Wukong arrested! ”

The spirit of the planet Venus stepped forward. “ Your Majesty, ” said Venus. “ Perhaps we could give Wukong a job here in Heaven. ” The Jade Emperor raised his eyebrows. “ Why would we do that?” “ If he’s here, we can keep an eye on him, ” said Venus. “ It will be easy to keep him out of trouble. ”

“ Very well, ” said the emperor. “ Invite Wukong to come to live in Heaven. He will be in charge of the Royal Peach Garden. ” Wukong was telling his subjects about his adventure in the Land of Darkness.