Fire, Smoke, and Sand

Journey to the West 85 Fire, Smoke, and Sand

Wukong landed on another mountain peak. “ Ah-choo! ” The monkey groaned. “ That fire and smoke were awful! And the sand went right in—ah-ah-choo! —my nose. ” He looked at the Demon of Power’s mountain. The fire and smoke were now gone. Wukong was about to return to that mountain. But then he hesitated.

“ The demon will just use the same trick again, ” thought the monkey. “ I’ll sneak into his cave and look around. Maybe I can find out how he created the fire, smoke, and sand. ” Wukong turned into a bug and flew back to the demon’s mountain. He went into the cave and flew down a long, dark tunnel. He soon found a brightly lit bedroom filled with nice furniture and fancy decorations

In a corner a woman sat in a chair. She was crying. Poof! Wukong turned back into himself. “ Oh! ” cried the woman. “ Wh-who are you?” “ My name is Sun Wukong, ” said the monkey. “ Are you the queen?” The woman nodded. “ Your husband sent me to rescue you, ” said Wukong.

The queen’s face broke into a smile. “ Oh, please do! The demon who kidnapped me is horrible—nasty, ugly, smelly! ” The queen shivered. “ He said he loves me and wants to . . . m-marry me! ” The queen started to cry again. “ Don’t worry, Your Majesty, ” said Wukong. “ I’ll defeat the demon. But first I must figure out how he creates the fire, smoke, and sand. ”

“ That’s simple. ” The queen sniffed. “ He has three bells. The first bell makes fire. The second bell makes smoke. And the third bell makes sand. ” “ I saw the bells, ” said Wukong. “ He wears them around his neck. ” The monkey smiled. “ You wait here, Your Majesty. Tonight I’ll steal those bells from the demon. Once I defeat him, I’ll come back and rescue you. ”