Monkey Hit Lady White Bone Thrice

　　孙悟空三打白骨精

　　The Tang Priest (Sanzang) and his three disciples were on their way to the Western Heaven to obtain Buddhist scriptures. One day they were traveling in a high mountain. When Monkey (Wukong) saw it was cloudy and misting in the valley, he knew this mountain was bound to harbor fiends. He drew a magic circle with his cudgel on the ground to protect his master. He told Pig and Friar Sand to protect the Tang Priest and for the three of them not to leave the circle. He then went to have a look at the mountain and pick some fruit to bring back to eat.

　　唐僧师徒去西天取经。一日，走到一座大山中，只见天色阴沉，谷中浓雾弥漫，悟空料定必有妖怪。他用金箍棒在地上划一圈，让八戒、沙僧保护师父在圈内休息，他去探听虚实，顺便采些鲜果来充饥。

　　This mountain did indeed have a corpse fiend called Lady White Bone, who had been here for a thousand years. It had heard that anyone who ate a piece of the Tang Priest’s flesh will live forever, so it tried three times to capture him. The first time it changed itself into a young, beautiful girl holding a basket of food. With her charming smile, she almost succeeded in talking the master and his two disciples into coming out of the circle. Just at the last moment, Monkey came back. Realizing that she was an evil spirit, he raised his cudgel and hit her. The fiend changed into a gust of smoke and fled. The second time the fiend turned itself into an old woman, who walked towards them leaning on a stick with a crooked handle. Monkey recognized it and struck it again. Like the first time, the fiend fled.

　　这座山内千年修行的白骨精，她听说吃了唐僧肉可长生不老，于是她三次设计捉拿唐僧。第一次，她变成一个美丽少女，手提一篮馒头，笑着想把师徒三人从圈内骗出，悟空赶到，举棒就打，女妖化一缕青烟跑掉。第二次，她变成老婆婆，拄一根拐杖从山后走来，悟空认出又是白骨精变的，举棒又打，白骨精故伎重演，化烟脱逃。

　　The third time it turned itself into an old man, sitting before a hut waiting for the Tang Priest to come. Monkey saw through the fiend’s disguise, raised his cudgel and struck it down. The fiend's this time left a piece of cloth from the cloud, saying: “If you're as kind as a Buddha, how can you kill? Keep Wukong with you and no scriptures will you get.” Sanzang believed the writing. He blamed Wukong for killing three people one after another, and forced him to leave. Without Monkey, Lady White Bone captured the Tang Priest easily and invited its mother to eat Sanzang's flesh together with it. But, Wukong came just in time to save him. He killed the old fiend on the way to its daughters', impersonated it, then got into the cave and saved the Tang Priest.

　　第三次她变作一个老头，在一间茅屋前坐等唐僧的到来。悟空看见，上来就打，白骨精招架不住，便用计从云端扔下一黄绢，上写：佛心慈悲，切勿杀生;再留悟空，难取真经。唐僧信以为真，怪悟空连伤二命，逼悟空离开。悟空走后，白骨精顺利地捉了唐僧，在白骨精邀母亲来吃唐僧肉时，孙悟空赶到，并打死老妖，变成白骨精的母亲进洞救出了唐僧。

（编辑：何莹莹）