In China, people came up with a simple and amusing way to count the years. They use 12 animals, namely rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, chicken, dog and pig, to represent years and make up the Chinese zodiac.
Do you know how they picked those animals? Do you know why the little rat is the first? The following interesting story will answer your questions.
Once upon a time, the cat and the rat were good friends, every day they would play together, everyday they would eat together, and life was very happy. One day, the Lord of Heaven told the God of Earth, "I feel that the way we calculate the years is really uncomfortable, so I think I’ll hold a competition for crossing the river between the animals, the first animals to arrive at the finish line will make up the new 12 calendar-years."
The God of Earth released the news to all the animals on earth. All the animals were happy to hear the news and they all wanted to participate.
As both cat and rate could not swim, on the day of competition, they rode on the ox to cross the river. When the ox arrived half way, the cat pointed at the other side of the river and said, "Look! The other animals still haven’t crossed the river, I’m sure we’ll be the firsts in the competition." The cat didn’t even get to finish his sentence, when the rat walked from behind and pushed him off, and the cat fell into the water. The rat laughed and said, "Oh, so sorry, my brother the cat. You can continue swimming slowly… now I’m definitely the first!"
The ox didn’t pay attention and continued to swim, and arrived at the end point. The little rat jumped of the ox to the shore and ran happily towards the finish line, seeing that the others still aren’t there.
The ox ran and arrived second. Next was the tiger, the little rabbit quickly followed, the dragon came from within the clouds and announced, "I’ve arrived". As the horse arrived at the finish line, a snake suddenly appeared from the grass, making the horse and the sheep jump in horror. The monkey, the chicken, and the dog quickly ran to the finish line. The competition was about to end.
The Lord of Heaven said, "Rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, chicken and the dog are the 11, who’s going to be the last one?” At that moment, a very fat pig came running in and announced, "I’m starving!"
The Lord of Heaven was about to announce the 12 winning animals, when the cat arrived, asking, "What number am I?" The Lord of Heaven replied, "I’m sorry, you got here too late, and you can’t be part of the Zodiac". The cat replied angerily, "That’s all the rat’s fault, I will never forgive him."
From that day forward, the cat wants to bite the rat, and so the rat fears the cat. The rat hides from the cat all day, and comes out only in the evening.
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在中国，人们想出一个简单而奇趣的方法来计算年代。他们以十二种动物，鼠、牛、虎、兔、龙、蛇、马、羊、猴、鸡、狗、猪，来代表年岁，组成十二生肖。
你知道十二生肖是如何选出来的吗？为什么小老鼠会排在第一呢？以下有趣的传说可以解答你的问题。
从前猫与鼠是好朋友，它们每天一起游玩，一起吃饭，日子过得好开心。一天，玉帝对土地公说：‘我觉得目前计算年岁的方法，很不方便，所以我想举办一次动物过河比赛，最先抵达终点的十二种动物组成十二周年。’
土地公于是把比赛的消息公布给所有地上的动物。动物们都很高兴，他们都想参加比赛。
由于猫与鼠都不会游泳，比赛那天，它们就坐在牛的背上出发。牛游到河中间的时候，猫就指着岸边说，‘你看，它们都还没过河呢。过河比赛我们一定领先。’猫还没说完，鼠却从毛背后用力地推，猫就掉下水了。鼠笑着说：‘对不起，猫大哥，你继续慢慢游吧。现在我肯定第一名了。’
牛根本就没有注意，继续往前游而抵达了终点。鼠从牛背上跳上岸，快乐地奔往终点，还没有动物抵达呢。
牛第二个抵达。下一个是虎，兔紧跟在后头，龙从云里出来，宣告说：‘我到了。’吗快要到终点时，蛇突然从草丛里转出来，把马与羊吓了一跳。猴、鸡与狗也快速跑到终点。比赛就快要结束了。
玉帝说：‘鼠、牛、虎、兔、龙、蛇、马、羊、猴、鸡、狗，共十一个，谁会是最后一个呢？’就在这时，一个很肥的猪跑来说，‘饿死我了。’
就在玉帝要宣布十二名优胜的动物时，猫抵达了，它问：‘我得到第几名？’玉帝说：‘很抱歉，你来迟了，不能成为十二生肖。’猫很生气地说；‘都是可恶的老鼠的错，我永远不会原谅它。’
从此以后，猫一见老鼠就像咬，以致老鼠怕猫，白天只好躲在洞里，夜晚才敢出来。
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