The Dragon Who Ate a Horse

The Dragon who Ate a Horse

Hello, you’re listening to Jana, and I’m here with the next in our Chinese series, The Journey to the West. A Buddhist Monk called Tripitaka is on a long and dangerous journey to India. His body guard is a monkey warrior named Sun Wukong.

The monk and the monkey continued west towards India. The monk rode a white horse, while the monkey trudged behind carrying the bags. Their route took them over Coiled Serpent Mountain and down into a vast valley with an ice-cold stream. The water was so clear that birds often mistook their reflections for other birds and flew straight into it.

A water dragon lived in the stream. He was always peering up through the surface, hoping to spot an easy meal. When he saw the monk riding past, he shot out of the water, meaning to gobble him up. The startled horse threw the monk to the ground.

Fortunately, the monkey had lightning-fast reactions. He dropped the bags, scooped up the monk and ran into the woods with him. But the dragon did not go hungry. He swallowed the monk’s white horse, bridle and all, in one gulp.

When the monkey and Tripitaka returned to the riverside, the horse was nowhere to be seen. He was inside the dragon’s tummy.

“My horse has abandoned me!” wailed the monk. “He’s run off, the coward. Now I’ll have to trudge all the way to India. My tired old feet will never make it.”

The monkey found the monk’s complaining too tiresome to bear.

“Oh, do be quiet,” he said testily. “I’ll go and find your old nag.”

He searched along the riverbank but could spot no hoofprints in the sandy earth. It was hard to believe, but the dragon must have eaten the horse. That was the only conclusion he could reach.

“HEY, YOU! DRAGON!” he called to the water. “Cough up my master’s horse! He’s so annoying, and if he has to walk, he’ll complain every step of the way to India and drive me crazy.”

The dragon was feeling full and satisfied as he dozed at the bottom of the stream. The monkey’s shouting began to wake him, but he decided to ignore it. The ill-mannered monkey only shouted louder.

“Come on, you slimy serpent! Don’t make me dive down there and pull you out by your tail!” The dragon did no more than swish his tail causing some ripples on the surface of the stream. The monkey continued to insult him.

“Hey you overgrown eel! I’ve seen tadpoles with more courage! What are you doing down there?  There’ll be plenty of time for you to sleep when you’re dead!” Finally, the dragon had had enough. He shot out of the water, baring his yellow teeth. The monkey fought back with his iron cudgel, but neither could get the better of the other. Eventually, the dragon lost interest in the fight and dived back into the water.

The monkey scratched his head and returned to the monk to report what had happened. When he heard the tale, the monk was furious.

“What kind of heaven-sent bodyguard are you? You never stop boasting about how you can fight tigers and monsters, but as soon as one little dragon comes along, you’re defeated!”

“All right, all right,” said the monkey. “I’ll go back and get him this time.”

The monkey returned to the stream and called out another challenge. The dragon emerged, but as soon as he saw the iron cudgel, he shrank himself to the size of a lizard. Then he scuttled into the undergrowth and hid in a hole beneath the leaves.

The monkey searched through the grass, thumping the ground with his iron rod and letting out blood curdling curses.  He didn’t find the lizard, but he did disturb an Earth God who popped up out of the ground looking like a giant mole.

“Hey, what’s all this noise about?  Why are you banging on my roof!  Some of us are trying to get some rest, don’t you know?” The monkey bowed and apologised, explaining that he was searching for the Water Dragon who had shrunk himself into the size of a Lizard and run into the grass. “Oh, I know that dragon,” said the Earth God, “He is the Jade Dragon Prince, the third son of the Dragon King of the Western Sea.  He belongs to the Bodhisattva Guanyin.  If you’ve got a complaint you should take it up with her.” “Oh,” said the monkey, “I’ve got a few complaints to take up with Guanyin.” A soft light fell across the stream. The monkey looked up. The gentle Guanyin, a bodhisattva known for her kindness, stood upon a cloud, dressed in flowing white robes, with a willow branch in her hand. “Listen here, Guanyin,” said the Monkey, “What kind of sister of kindness and mercy are you? I put your crown on my head, and now, whenever Tripitaka calls out a secret mantra, I get the worst headache in the universe?” Guanyin smiled. “I had to give him some way to stop you misbehaving.” “Oh, I see,” said the monkey, “But that’s not all. Why did you let your dragon eat Tripitaka’s horse?  Ever since he’s done nothing but complain about how his feet hurt when he has to walk.” “That was a mistake,” said Guanyin, “The dragon is shortsighted and did not recognise Tripitaka as a holy monk. And then she called out, “Jade Dragon Prince, you can come out now.  The monkey won’t attack you any more, I promise.” There was a rustling of the leaves and the dragon emerged out of the bushes.  When he saw the monkey he retreated back a few steps. “Why were you hiding?” asked Guanyin. “This monkey kept hitting me with his iron stick,” replied the dragon. “That’s a good reason, but don’t you know that he’s the first disciple of the monk I told you about?” “He didn’t say that,” complained the dragon, “He just kept on yelling about the horse  I ate for my lunch.” “That’s a big lunch for a little dragon,” replied Guanyin, “besides the horse belonged to the monk, Tripitaka, who is on his way to India. Now it is your turn to carry him there, and you will be rewarded by heaven for your services. First you must receive this blessing.” She dipped her willow stick in the stream before sprinkling some drops on the dragon’s bowed head. For a while the air turned white with mist, and when it cleared he had become a horse, just like the one he had eaten, only younger and brighter. “Nice,” said the Monkey.  “Tripitaka ought to be pleased with his replacement horse, but we can be sure he’ll find a way to complain.” “You are right. He’ll want a comfortable saddle,” said Guanyin and she sprinkled a few more drops at the horse.  Now he was well fitted out. “What about me, don’t I get anything?” asked the monkey. “Alright,” said Guanyin as she flicked three drops at the Monkey’s head.  They instantly became three long hairs. “If you are ever in deep, deep trouble,” she said, “Pull out one of those hairs and it will help you.” “Cool, thanks,” replied the Monkey.  And taking the horse dragon by the reins, he led him back along the bank to find Tripitaka, ready to continue the epic Journey to the West. The Dragon Who Ate a Horse, read by me Jana for Storynory. Drop by soon for more lovely stories and if you are able to help us by supporting Storynory on Patreon or PayPal, wed love to give you a shoutout! For now from me Jana, bye bye!