The Chinese Zodiac Story

CEBU, Philippines - One day, the kittens known as Blackfoot, Whitefang and Stripe asked their teacher, Brad, the world's smartest rat, a question:

"Is there a story behind the animals in the Chinese Zodiac, Brad?" asked Stripe, the smartest of the three.

"Yeah," agreed Blackfoot. "Also… why are there only 12 animals in the list, and why is the Rat first, the Ox second, the Tiger third, the Rabbit fourth… and so on?"

Being the three kittens' long-time teacher, Brad was used to their curious questions.

With the upcoming Chinese New Year celebrations and festivities well on their way, he wasn't surprised when they asked him about the Chinese Zodiac story.

"There are different legends that talk about the animals of the Chinese Zodiac, little kittens," said Brad in response.

"One popular legend notes that a long time ago, the Jade Emperor decided that there should be an organized way to count the years using a new calendar."

"According to the legend, the Emperor called all of the animals to a meeting, decreeing that the years of the new calendar would be named after each animal in the order they arrived."

"While attending the meeting wasn't really a problem for the animals, getting there proved to be challenging to some because they had to cross a river to get to the meeting's venue."

"The rat—a smart animal who is not really comfortable with water—decided to use his wits to convince the ox to allow him to ride on its back, helping him cross the river."

"When the rat asked for the ox's help, the honest ox naturally agreed, telling the rat to hop on his back."

"When the two were about to reach the other end of the riverbank, the rat quickly jumped over the ox's head, making it to the meeting first."

"The ox came in second, followed by the Tiger, the Rabbit, the Dragon, the Snake, the Horse, the Goat, the Monkey, the Rooster, the Dog and then the Pig."

"The legend notes that the twelve animals were the only ones who came to the Jade Emperor's meeting. As decreed, the new calendar's years were named after the twelve animals." (FREEMAN)