The Great Race

This isn’t a tale as old as time. This sweet story is older than time. It happened before the Chinese calendar came into being, predating the endearing story-telling session opening ‘once upon a time’.

The Jade Emperor was worried that he didn’t have the inkling of how old he was. He thought of devising a method to calculate the years that passed by.

Thirteen animals came to help him. The sharp thinking rat, hard-working ox, the agile tiger and rabbit, gorgeous dragon, wily snake, gentle and modest goat and horse, prancing monkey, etc, participated in a race. Their order of hitting the finishing line determined the sequence of the years.

A heartwarming story concludes how and why these animals completed the race successfully in the order of rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig. Each year that heralded spring in China was the year of an animal. In a cycle of a dozen years, every animal got its chance.

Wait, didn’t I say that 13 animals had volunteered? Then why is the Chinese calendar a zodiac of twelve? One of the animals slept throughout the race. This furball had asked the rat to wake him/ her up. Though the rodent tickled him/ her, she went on dreaming about tasty fish.

When all the animals had woken up, with his/ her tail angrily up in the air, he/ she came all drenched by the lake water. He/ she hissed through his whiskers at the poor rat who ran away. Since then the cat has been relentlessly pursuing the rat.

#thegreatrace, #chinesemythology, #cutecat, #chinesecalendar, #rat, #ox, #tiger, #rabbit, #dragon, #snake, #horse, #goat, #monkey, #rooster, #dog, #pig, #catandmousegame, #whiskersandtail, #catnaps, #angrycat, #jadeemperor, #emperorofchina, #majestickitty, #cattales, #catmyths, #catfolklore, #catlovers, #catlove, #catlife, #catandrat

 

https://pixabay.com/photos/cat-kitten-pet-kitty-young-cat-551554/

https://pixabay.com/photos/animals-fantasy-composing-books-2739386/

https://pixabay.com/photos/cute-baby-bunny-rabbit-pet-easter-2500929/

https://pixabay.com/photos/beef-aurochs-ox-ur-usus-cattle-3522962/

https://pixabay.com/photos/snake-python-serpent-scales-543243/

https://pixabay.com/photos/foal-mare-mother-paint-horse-brown-3467629/

https://pixabay.com/photos/goat-animal-horns-mammal-kid-1438254/

https://pixabay.com/photos/chickens-birds-poultry-rooster-hen-2522623/

https://pixabay.com/photos/dog-animal-puppy-pet-mammal-4390885/

https://pixabay.com/photos/pigs-domestic-animals-fauna-pork-387204/

 

 

 

 

 

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