Sanzang, the devout monk of Tang Dynasty, also called Tang Monk, went west with the assistance of his first disciple Sun Wukong, the Monkey King. Several days later, they came to a big mountain and took a rest under a tree. Tang Monk heard a sound of water “Wukong,” Tang Monk said to Monkey King. “Where does the water sound come from?” “I remember this mountain is called Mt. Snake,” said Monkey King. “In this mountain, there is a stream called Eagle Stream. I think the water sound must come from this stream.” The master and the disciple went to the stream bank and had a look. They found the current was extremely swift. While attentively looking at the stream, they suddenly found a dragon coming from the water. The dragon rushed directly to Tang Monk and wanted to take him away. Monkey King quickly hold his master and ran away leaving their horse on the stream bank. Unable to catch up with them, the dragon hold the horse and swallowed it. “How can we go continuously without a horse?” Tang Monk cried. “Don’t cry, Master,” said Monkey King. “Let me go and ask the dragon to return our horse.” “Where can you find it?” Tang Monk asked. “You’d better not leave me here. I’m afraid the dragon will come here to eat me up. If so, who will go west to take the Buddhist ures?” “Don’t be so coward, Master,” said Monkey King. “You want your horse back but you don’t let me go. How can I do? Could it be said that we just sit here waiting for death?”
Quarreling sharply, they heard someone saying to them in the sky. “Monkey King, don’t be worried. Tank Monk, don’t cry,” said the man. “ We are the gods sent by Guanyin. Our task is to protect you secretly.” “Excellent!” said Monkey King. “I just need you to be here to protect my master. I can go alone to ask the dragon to return our horse.’ Monkey King came to the bank of the stream. “Give back my horse! Give back my horse!” Monkey King cried toward the water. “You dirty loach!” Hearing some one cursing him, the dragon came out the water immediately. “Who’re you?” the dragon asked. “Don’t take too many liberties.” “Don’t talk nonsense!” said Monkey King. “Give back my horse!” These two thereafter started to fight violently. At the beginning, neither side acknowledged defeat. But at the end, no match for Monkey King, the dragon turned into a small snake and escaped into the wild grass.
Angrily searching for a long time, Monkey King found nothing. Finally, he could do nothing but ask the earth god and the mountain god for help. “What can I do for you?” the two gods asked. “What sort of evil dragon in the stream?” Monkey King asked. “It should dare to eat the horse of my master!” “Many years ago, Guanyin Bodhisattva, the Goddess of Mercy, once saved a little dragon when she was looking for a devout monk to go west to take the Buddhist ures.” Monkey King was told. “Guanyin left the dragon here and asked him to wait for the monk and didn’t allow him to do evil things. When hungry, the little dragon would come up to the bank and looked for some birds or deer to eat. I don’t know why he has the gut to offend Monkey King today.” The two gods told Monkey King that it was very difficult to find out the snake because there were many holes leading into the deep stream. They said that it is only the Goddess of Mercy that can catch the snake. “If we ask for help from Goddess of Mercy,” asked Tang Monk, “how many days can she come here? How can I endure hunger for so long a time?” “Don’t worry about it,” said Monkey King. “I can go to South Sea to ask Goddess of Mercy for help.” “Monkey King!” a god named the Golden Head God said in the sky. “I’m willing to go.” “Thanks a lot!” Monkey King said. “You’d better go at once.”
Before long, Goddess of Mercy came to the bank of the stream and called out the dragon. “Goddess of Mercy,” the dragon said. “You asked me to wait for the monk. I’ve been waiting here for a long time but he hasn’t come yet.” “The monk has come,” then Goddess of Mercy pointed at Monkey. “He’s the disciple of the monk.” “Goddess of Mercy,” said the little dragon. “He’s my sworn enemy. Yesterday I was too hungry and ate his horse. But the evil monkey abused his power and bullied me. He just didn’t let me off. I had to escape by turning into a snake.” The dragon complained. “He didn’t mention a single word about taking Buddhist ures.” “You didn’t ask me,” Monkey King said. “How could I tell you?” “Don’t quarrel,” Goddess of Mercy said. Stepping up and taking off the pear from the dragon’s neck, Goddess of Mercy inserted her willow spray into her jade bottle and dipped it in the water and sprinkled some water upon the dragon. Finally she opened her mouth and blew a gust of immortal air at the dragon. “Change!” said Goddess of Mercy with a blow at the dragon. The dragon turned into a horse immediately. Goddess of Mercy told him that so long as he behaved well, he could be turned into an immortal dragon. The horse meekly obeyed.
Monkey King seized Goddess of Mercy by her sleeve just at the moment she wanted to go back to South Sea. “I want to go back,” said Monkey King. “The way to the west is too long and there’re too many monsters along the roads. I maybe lose my life at any time. How can I help my master?” “Never mind,” Goddess of Mercy told him. “You may call me so long as in need. I’ll come immediately.” Calling Monkey King over to her, Goddess of Mercy took off three leaves from her willow spray and then put them into the hair at the back of his head. “Change!” she said. These three leaves turned into three lifesaving hairs at once. “In critical situation, they can change at your will.” Goddess of Mercy told Monkey King. “You can free yourself from any disasters with their help.” Hearing this, Monkey King thanked Goddess of Mercy but she had already left riding a piece of colorful cloud. They set out again without any delay.