Journey to the West
Kowloon Junior School , Chan , Colin - 10
Along time ago , in a place not too far , nor too close to here . There lived an energetic and studious young monk , who was living in a monastery in China . He had been chosen to make the journey across the southwestern mountains to reach India . In his tiny dull dorm room , he sat at his table and began to think about what to bring with him on his journey . His thinking was cut short , as a shadow fell across the room , enveloping the monk and his worn leather satchel in darkness . Still in shock , the monk ' s instincts kicked in , resulting in him grasping the nearest weapon he could find , a long bamboo staff , decorated with pictures of flowers and animals . “ ha !” the shadow cried , “ you ’ re really going to hit me with that ?” the shadow melted away , leaving only the shadow of the monk , and a furry humanoid monkey . Standing on his windowsill was the legendary warrior , and infamous prankster , Sun Wu Kong , the monkey king . “ What are you doing here ?” the monk asked , still in shock from the surprising visit of his friend . A grubby pinkish hand grasped the windowsill , as Sun Wu Kong jumped off it in one graceful leap in the air and landed with great finesse . After that , the hand hoisted up the pink chubby body of a talking magic humanoid pig , with what seemed to be a bearded friar standing on his flabby forehead . “ Now that we ' ve got the old gang back together again , let ' s get down to business .” says the friar . “ we ' ve heard about your quest to India , and we would like to come too .” they chatted all night trying to persuade him to take them with him on his bewildering journey .
By morning he had just finished packing for the journey to come . He felt so energetic , although he got no sleep that night , he felt energetic and confident with the choice he had made to take his loyal friends with him on his hard journey . When he had made it down to the monastery courtyard , he noticed that his friends had already arrived and were waiting for him . “ I am finally making a difference in the world !” he thought as he and his friends walked past the campus gates , to embark on the journey of a lifetime . After crossing rivers , and trudging through forests for a whole day , they started to lose their excitement and energy they had shown previously . Their excitement came flooding back to them , when they encountered their first beast . The first monster they had encountered was a scaly lion with a dragon ’ s head , and the wings of an eagle . Its bloodshot eyes darted around , desperately seeking for prey , as if it hadn ' t eaten for weeks . The travellers each carefully drew their weapons , the monk cautiously nocked a silver tipped arrow , the pig drew his battered rake , the friar his iron war-axe , and the monkey king , his magic staff . When the beast caught sight of them with their weapons drawn , it bared its teeth , revealing sharp fangs , poised and ready to chomp and chew anything in its sight . The pig charged the beast with his rake yelling furiously , the rake scraping the ground ready to lift and attack . The monk swiftly firing multiple volleys of arrows at the monster with incredible accuracy . The monkey king and the friar decided to flank the beast , engaging their weapons . Monkey King ' s magic staff glowed as he commanded “ Expand !”. With a blink of an eye , the staff grew to the size of a pillar and Sun Wu Kong swung it at the beast with the force of a thousand men , nocking it backward . To finish the job , the friar launched himself at the beast . With one clean swipe , he had felled the beast . It took two great warriors , one monkey , a pig , and half a quiver-full of the sharpest arrows in China , to take down the beast . They had decided to make camp right next to the fallen beast . For this was their schedule , every day , before or after climbing hills and trekking through forests . Hundreds of creatures fallen by their hand , they had fought so many monsters that they decided to keep a monster log to share with the Indians when they had reached their destination . One fateful day , while they were wading across a large lagoon , a sea dragon rose from clear water , showering the atmosphere with glassy droplets . It granted the travellers one wish , for they had vanquished far too many of its kin , so that they would stop slaying its brethren and have a peaceful journey . However , they politely turned down the offer and only requested for the dragon to cease beastly interferences with their journey .
With no monsters to slay , they were only hindered by the long treacherous journey ahead . From scaling mountain peaks to trekking through the darkest woods , they always triumphed . Their confidence and bravery never left them until the end . When they arrived , they were welcomed with food and drink , smiles and laughter , and last of all , the feeling of joy ! The monk had found a magical community of learning , and spread the teachings and knowledge of the Chinese monks and Buddhism . Throughout his journey , he had also spread wisdom to the villages and kingdoms he had visited , he had become a famous scholar and mentor to many , and sometimes the tutor of young princes and princesses . His wisdom and teachings were being taught and preached to scholars all over the world , and still are today ! His journey hadn ' t ended , for it had just begun .