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繁體 Traditional
Reader's edition
借寶暗喜
Borrowing the Treasures
行者笑道：「二位，你把寶貝借我看看。」那小妖那知甚麼訣竅，就於袖中取出兩件寶貝，雙手遞與行者。行者見了，心中暗喜道：「好東西，好東西。我若把尾子一抉，颼的跳起走了，只當是送老孫。」忽又思道：「不好，不好。搶便搶去，只是壞了老孫的名頭。這叫做白日搶奪了。」復遞與他去道：「你還不曾見我的寶貝哩。」那怪道：「師父有甚寶貝？也借與我凡人看看壓災。」行者笑道：「二位，你把宝贝借我看看。」那小妖那知甚么诀窍，就于袖中取出两件宝贝，双手递与行者。行者见了，心中暗喜道：「好东西，好东西。我若把尾子一抉，飕的跳起走了，只当是送老孙。」忽又思道：「不好，不好。抢便抢去，只是坏了老孙的名头。这叫做白日抢夺了。」复递与他去道：「你还不曾见我的宝贝哩。」那怪道：「师父有甚宝贝？也借与我凡人看看压灾。」
逐句解 Line by line
行者笑道：「二位，你把寶貝借我看看。」
行者笑道：「二位，你把宝贝借我看看。」
Pilgrim said with a smile: “You two — lend me the treasures for a look.”
借我看看 (jiè wǒ kàn kàn), “lend [them] for me to look at.” The casual request that the imps, disarmed, will not refuse.
那小妖那知甚麼訣竅，就於袖中取出兩件寶貝，雙手遞與行者。
那小妖那知甚么诀窍，就于袖中取出两件宝贝，双手递与行者。
The little imps, knowing nothing of any trick, drew the two treasures from their sleeves and handed them to Pilgrim with both hands.
那知甚麼訣竅 (nǎ zhī shén me jué qiào), “how should they know any wile,” the rhetorical 那 read nǎ. 雙手遞與 (shuāng shǒu dì yǔ), “handed over with both hands,” a gesture of respect.
行者見了，心中暗喜道：「好東西，好東西。我若把尾子一抉，颼的跳起走了，只當是送老孫。」
行者见了，心中暗喜道：「好东西，好东西。我若把尾子一抉，飕的跳起走了，只当是送老孙。」
Seeing them, Pilgrim rejoiced in secret: “Fine things, fine things! If I gave my tail a flick and went bounding off with a whoosh, I'd count it as their gift to old Monkey.”
尾子一抉 (wěi zi yì jué), “with a flick of the tail.” 颼的 (sōu de), “with a whoosh.” 只當是送老孫 (zhǐ dàng shì sòng lǎo sūn), “just count it as a gift to me,” 當 read dàng.
忽又思道：「不好，不好。搶便搶去，只是壞了老孫的名頭。這叫做白日搶奪了。」
忽又思道：「不好，不好。抢便抢去，只是坏了老孙的名头。这叫做白日抢夺了。」
But then he thought again: “No good, no good. Snatch them and off I'd be — but it would ruin old Monkey's good name. That's what you'd call daylight robbery.”
名頭 (míng tóu), “reputation, good name.” 白日搶奪 (bái rì qiǎng duó), “robbery in broad daylight.” Pilgrim's scruple is pride, not honesty: theft is beneath the Great Sage.
復遞與他去道：「你還不曾見我的寶貝哩。」
复递与他去道：「你还不曾见我的宝贝哩。」
So he handed them back and said: “You haven't yet seen my treasure.”
還不曾見 (hái bù céng jiàn), “have not yet seen,” 還 read hái; the final 哩 (li). Pilgrim baits the next stage of the con.
那怪道：「師父有甚寶貝？也借與我凡人看看壓災。」
那怪道：「师父有甚宝贝？也借与我凡人看看压灾。」
The imps said: “What treasure has the master? Lend it to us mortals too, to look at and ward off calamity.”
甚寶貝 (shén bǎo bèi), “what treasure,” interrogative shén. 壓災 (yā zāi), “to suppress misfortune” — a treasure's protective virtue.
總評 Commentary
The trap all but springs itself: the imps, “knowing nothing of any trick,” hand over both treasures with the two-handed reverence due a master. For a moment the whole contest could end here — a flick of the tail and Pilgrim could bound away with the gourds. His temptation is frank (“Fine things, fine things!”), and the ease of the theft is real.
What stops him is not honesty but pride: to snatch and run would be “daylight robbery,” beneath the Great Sage's name. The scruple is characteristic — Pilgrim will out-trick anyone, but he will not simply steal — and it is also, dramatically, what keeps the game going. By handing the treasures back and boasting of his own, he baits the imps into the exchange that will let him win the gourds fairly, by a wager they cannot resist. The stage is set for the bottling of the sky.