"But by the time he opened his eyes, the king's men had caught up with him."
"They brought him before the king. The king discovered that this monkey could actually speak the human tongue."
"But he had no intention of letting him go. He said that daring to lead his troop into the royal forbidden grounds and steal fruit was a capital offense. He had already ordered men up the mountain to capture the monkeys."
"When the Macaque King heard this, he knelt before the king. He did not beg the king to spare his own life. He bowed his head to the ground."
"'Great King, I am their king. I was the one who led them inside."
"All the blame rests with me. They only wanted to survive. Please, Great King, spare them."
"The flesh on my body is enough for your royal cooks to make a meal. If it can buy them a way to live, I will die without regret."
"The king was deeply moved by his words and shed tears for him. He ordered his bonds undone and said, 'You, the king of beasts, would give up your own life to protect your entire troop; yet I, a king of men, would slaughter living creatures over a few pieces of fruit.'"
"He released the monkey king at once and decreed that the macaques could freely gather and eat from his garden. Anyone in the kingdom who dared harm them would be punished as a robber or thief."
"After my master told me this story, he asked me-Wukong, was the monkey king wrong to lead his troop into the Imperial Garden?"
"I said, 'He was.'"
"My master asked, 'Where did he go wrong?'"
"I said, 'He was too weak. If it had been Old Sun, I'd