Magic Bells

Journey to the West 86 Magic Bells

Wukong shouted outside the cave. He shouted all kinds of insults about the Demon of Power. Inside the cave the guard woke up. He ran to the demon’s bedroom. “ Master! ” cried the guard. “ The monkey is back! ” “ It’s the middle of the night, ” said the demon. “ What does he want?”

“ He said we must return the queen, ” said the guard. “ If we don’t, he’ll smash our entire mountain. He also yelled some terrible things about you. ” The Demon of Power climbed out of bed and grabbed the fake bells. “ I’ll chase the monkey away with my fire, smoke, and sand again. ” He tied the bells around his neck and went outside.

The demon glared at Wukong. “ Go away! I’m sleeping! ” “ Return the queen! ” shouted the monkey. “ Never! ” said the demon. He reached for the bells around his neck. Wukong pretended to be surprised. “ Oh, ” he said. “ I have bells just like those. ” The demon squinted at the monkey. “ I doubt your bells are like mine. Let me see them. ”

Wukong held up the bells. The demon peered at them for a moment. “ Those bells do look like mine. But my bells are magic. ” “ So are mine, ” said Wukong. “ My bells can make fire, smoke, and sand, ” said the demon. “ That’s interesting. ” Wukong smiled. “ My bells can do that too. ” “ Really?” The Demon of Power looked surprised. “ Let’s compare bells to see whose work better. ”

“ Okay, ” said Wukong. “ You go first. ” “ I was planning to, ” said the demon. He shook his bells. Nothing happened. He shook the bells again. Again nothing happened. “ That’s strange, ” the demon mumbled. He looked closely at the bells. “ These bells worked fine yesterday. ”