water demon

[ The monkey king ] walked along the bank, around the pond.
He examined the footprints of the animals that had gone into
the water, and saw that none came out again! So he realized
this pond must be possessed by a water demon. He said to the
80,000 monkeys, "This pond is possessed by a water demon. Do
not let anybody go into it."

After a little while, the water demon saw that none of the
monkeys went into the water to drink. So he rose out of the
middle of the pond, taking the shape of a frightening monster.
He had a big blue belly, a white face with bulging green eyes,
and red claws and feet. He said, "Why are you just sitting
around? Come into the pond and drink at once!"

The monkey king said to the horrible monster, "Are you the
water demon who owns this pond?" "Yes, I am," said he. "Do
you eat whoever goes into the water?" asked the king. "Yes,
I do," he answered, "including even birds. I eat them all.
And when you are forced by your thirst to come into the pond
and drink, I will enjoy eating you, the biggest monkey, most
of all!" He grinned, and saliva dripped down his hairy chin.
[ Buddhist Tales for Young and Old, Vol. 1 ]

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