At last Peach-boy and his companions came to the sea. They looked off
across the water in the direction which he told them the island lay
whose demon inhabitants he and they were to destroy, and saw nothing but
waves. The dog, the monkey, and the pheasant are all creatures that live
on dry land, and though the steepest cliff and deepest valley could not
frighten them, yet when they saw that endless stretch of rolling waves,
they stood speechless and fearful.
Peach-boy observed this and said in a loud voice: "My vassals, why do
you tremble? Does the ocean frighten you? It would have been better to
have come alone than to have picked up such companions. But now I will
dismiss you. Return!"
They were much pained at hearing these reproaches, and they clung to him
beseeching him not to send them away. Apparently they were plucking up
courage, and he consented to retain them.
He had them help prepare a boat, and they set sail with the first
favorable wind. The shore behind them was soon lost to sight, and for a
while the animals were very unhappy. But they gradually became
accustomed to the motion and presently stood on deck eagerly looking
ahead to see the island as soon as it came into view. When they wearied
of that they began to show their accomplishments. The dog sat up and
begged, the monkey played tricks, and the pheasant sang a song.
Their performances greatly amused Peach-boy, and before he knew it the
island was close at hand. On it he could see numerous flags fluttering
above what seemed to be an impregnable fortress. This fortress had a
heavy gate of iron, and inside were many closely-crowded houses, all of
which had iron roofs.
Peach-boy turned to the pheasant and said: "You have wings. Fly to the
fortress and find out what those island demons are doing."
The pheasant promptly obeyed his orders and found the demons, some of
them red, some black, some blue, assembled on the iron roofs of their
houses. "Listen, you island demons!" the pheasant cried. "A mighty
warrior is coming with an army to destroy you. If you wish to save your
lives, yield at once."
"You vain pheasant!" the demons laughed, "it is you who will be
destroyed--not us."
So saying, they shook their horns at him, girded up their garments of
tiger-skin, and seized their weapons. But that did not scare the
pheasant. He swooped down and with one peck took off the head of a red
demon.
Then began a fierce battle, and soon the gate burst open, and Peach-boy
with the dog and monkey rushed in raging like lions. The demons, who
thought that they only had to do with one bird, were much alarmed, yet
they fought bravely, and even their children joined in the fray. The
sound of their yells as it mingled with the sound of the waves beating
on the shore was truly terrible.
In the end they got the worst of it. Some fell from the roofs of their
houses, the walls of the fortress, and the wild cliffs, and some were
killed by the irresistible onslaughts of Peach-boy, and of the dog, the
monkey, and the pheasant.
When, at last, only the head demon remained alive, he threw away his
weapons, and knelt in submission before Peach-boy with the tears
streaming down his cheeks. "Great warrior," he said, "spare my life!
From today I shall reform. Spare me!"
Peach-boy laughed scornfully. "You villain!" he cried, "for many years
you have persecuted and killed innocent people; and now that your own
life is in danger you beg for mercy and promise to reform. You deserve
no mercy, and shall receive none."
So the head demon shared the fate of the rest of his tribe, and
Peach-boy and his comrades loaded their boat with the hoarded island
treasures. There were coral and tortoise and pearls, not to speak of
magic hats and coats that made their wearers invisible.
All these things they carried away, and great was the joy of the old man
and old woman when they saw Peach-boy return victorious. After that he
and they lived happily to the end of their days.