as first differentiated,” Prince Nezha replied, “the light and pure became the sky, and the heavy and dirty became the earth. The sky is a ball of pure vapor that holds up the palaces of Heaven, and by rights it should be impossible to contain it. But now that Sun the Novice is escorting the Tang Priest to fetch the Scriptures from the Western Heaven this will be a source of blessings as great as Mount Tai, a good deed as profound as the ocean. Today we ought to help him succeed.”

“How would you help him?” the Jade Emperor asked.

“I beg for the issue of an Imperial Edict to the Northern Gate of Heaven asking the True Martial God to lend us his Black Vulture Banner to spread outside the Southern Gate and block out the sun, moon and starts. Down there they will be unable to see each other and not even able to tell back from white. That will fool the devils into thinking that the sky has been packed into the gourd, and enable Sun the Novice to succeed.” The Jade Emperor ordered that this suggestion be implemented. Bearing the imperial command Prince Nezha went to see the True Martial God at the Northern Gate of Heaven and tell him what had happened. The True Martial God handed the prince the banner.

By now a patroller had hurried down to whisper in the Great Sage’s ear, “Prince Nezha is coming to help you.” Monkey looked up to see swirling clouds of good omen, a sure sign of the presence of a god, then turned to the little devils and said, “We’ll put the sky away then.”

“Put it away if you like,” said the little devils, “but why all this playing for time?”

“I was just saying the spell and calling up the magic powers,” said Monkey. The little devils gazed wide-eyed, wondering how he was going to put the sky away. Monkey threw his imitation gourd up into the air. It was only a hair really, so you can imagine how light it was. As the winds round the mountain peak caught it, it floated in the air for an hour before landing. Meanwhile Prince Nezha was noisily spreading the Black Vulture Banner out at the Southern Gate of Heaven, obscuring the sun, the moon and the stars. Indeed:

Heaven and earth were dyed as black as ink;

The cosmos into darkness then did sink.

The two little devils were terrified. “When we were talking a moment ago,” they said, “it was midday. How could it be dusk now?”

“When the sky is put away,” said Monkey, “distinctions of time disappear. Of course it’s murky.”

“But why’s it so dark now?”

“The sun and the moon and the stars have all been put inside, so there’s no light outside. It’s bound to be dark.”

“Master,” said the little devils, “where is your voice coming from?”

“I’m just in front of you, aren’t I?” said Monkey. The little devils stretched their hands out and felt him.

“We can hear you but we still can’t see you. Where are we, Master?”

“Don’t fidget,” said Monkey, hoodwinking them, “you’re on the coast of the Bohai Sea. One slip and you’d fall for seven or eight days before hitting the bottom.”

The little devils were panic-struck. “Enough, enough. Let the sky out again. Now we know how it’s put away. If you go on a moment too long and we fall into the sea we’ll never get home.”

Splendid Monkey. As they were both convinced he said another spell that had an impact on Prince Nezha, who rolled the banner up again, revealing the noonday sun once more. “Fantastic,” exclaimed the little devils in delight, “fantastic. If we don’t do a swap for this treasure we won’t be looking after our family’s interest.”

Dexterous Ghost handed over the gourd and Skilful Beast produced the vase. When they gave them both to Monkey he gave them his imitation gourd. The exchange had now been made, but Monkey wanted it to be final, so he plucked a hair from under his navel, blew a magic breath on it, and turned it into a copper coin. “Boys,” he said, “take this coin and buy a sheet of paper.”

“Why?” they asked.

“We’ll write a legal contract for the exchange of your two man-holding treasures for my sky-holder,” said Monkey. “We each need a written agreement to prevent later regrets with the passage of time.”

“But there’s no brush or ink here to write a contract with,” said the two little devils. “Let’s swear an oath instead.”

“What sort of oath?” asked Monkey. “

We exchange our two man-holding treasures for your sky-holder,” said the devils, “and if we ever have any regrets may we be struck with pestilence in all four seasons.”

“I certainly won’t have any regrets,” chuckled Monkey. “If I do, may I too be struck with pestilence in all four seasons.” Having sworn his oath he leapt up, his tail in the air, and landed in front of the Southern Gate of Heaven, where he thanked Prince Nezha for helping him with the banner. The prince reported back to the palace and returned the banner to the True Martial God, leaving Monkey standing amid the stars and clouds, gazing at the little devils.

If you don’t know how things turned out, listen to the explanation in the next installment.