The Monkey King.

Long ago when the world was young, a great stone egg was created where the sky touched the earth.

One day the egg hatched and out of it jumped a monkey.

He was no ordinary monkey,

for he was particularly strong and quick and clever. He was also very boastful and loved

causing trouble. The other monkeys chose him to be their ruler and brought him the finest fruit to eat.

They gave him the title of Handsome Monkey King, which you like very much.

However in this story we will just call him monkey.

He was determined to learn the secret of immortality, so he found wise monks who shared

their knowledge with him. He mastered the martial art of Kung Fu and learned how to use many special powers.

As I've said, monkey was very proud. He even demanded that the great Jade Emperor who ruled the heavens should give him an important job.

I am the king of the monkeys and possess much wisdom.

Monkey chatted.

You must give me a job, worthy of my rank.

Everyone will know how great I am. The Jade Emperor told

monkey that he could guard the peach trees of his heavenly garden. However, monkey was greedy. He gobbled all of the peaches.

So there were none left for the Jade Emperor's feast.

The mighty ruler was furious.

He told monkey,

For disobeying my orders and eating my peaches.

I will imprison you beneath the great mountain

until you have learned your lesson. Monkey was trapped there for many years until a young monk called Tang Singh came to visit him. The monk said,

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