he was back in his island Mountain and his people surrounded
him and said: "You have been gone for more than ten years, great king!
How is it you do not return to us until now?"

The Ape King said: "I did not spend more than about ten days in
Heaven. This Lord of the Heavens does not know how to treat his
people. He made me his stablemaster, and I had to feed his horses. I
am so ashamed that I am ready to die. But I did not put up with it,
and now I am here once more!"

His apes eagerly prepared a banquet to comfort him. While they sat at
table two horned devil-kings came and brought him a yellow imperial
robe as a present. Filled with joy he slipped into it, and appointed
the two devil-kings leaders of the vanguard. They thanked him and
began to flatter him: "With your power and wisdom, great king, why
should you have to serve the Lord of the Heavens? To call you the
Great Saint who is Heaven's Equal would be quite in order."

The ape was pleased with this speech and said: "Good, good!" Then he
ordered his four baboons to have a flag made quickly, on which was to
be inscribed: "The Great Saint Who Is Heaven's Equal." And from that
time on he had himself called by that title.

When the Lord of the Heavens learned of the flight of the ape, he
ordered Li Dsing, the pagoda-bearing god, and his third son, Notscha,
to take the Ape King prisoner. They sallied forth at the head of a
heavenly warrior host, laid out a camp before his cave, and sent a
brave warrior to challenge him to single combat. But he was easily
beaten by Sun Wu Kung and obliged to flee, and Sun Wu Kung even
shouted after him, laughing: "What a bag of wind! And he calls himself
a heavenly warrior! I'll not slay you. Run along quickly and send me a
better man!"

When Notscha saw this he himself hurried up to do battle.

Said Sun Wu Kung to him: "To whom do you belong, little one? You must
not play around here, for something might happen to you!"

But Notscha cried out in a loud voice: "Accursed ape! I am Prince
Notscha, and have been ordered to take you prisoner!" And with that he
swung his sword in the direction of Sun Wu Kung.

"Very well," said the latter, "I will stand here and never move."

Then Notscha grew very angry, and turned into a three-headed god with
six arms, in which he held six different weapons. Thus he rushed on to
the attack.

Sun Wu Kung laughed. "The little fellow knows the trick of it! But
easy, wait a bit! I will change sh