十二生肖的故事
The Great Race: the Chinese zodiac story
Name: ________________ Date: ________
十二生肖里，为什么老鼠排第一？为什么没有猫？有一个民间故事是这么说的。
很久以前，玉皇大帝想让每一年都有一个动物。他说：“明天大家过河来见我。谁先到，谁就排在前面。十二个就够了！”
那时候，猫有一个好朋友，就是老鼠。猫爱睡觉，就对老鼠说：“明天早上你叫我起床，好吗？”
老鼠说：“没问题！”
第二天，老鼠起得特别早。可是它太高兴了，完全把猫忘了。
到了河边，它才发现，河太宽了，它过不去。这时候，牛来了。老鼠一下跳到牛身上：“牛哥，带我过河吧！”牛很老实，点点头就下了河。
牛就要到对岸了，老鼠从牛头上一跳，第一个跳到了玉皇大帝面前。牛只好排第二。
接着来的是老虎、兔子、龙、蛇、马、羊、猴子、鸡和狗。最后是猪。它在路上饿了就吃，困了就睡。
猫呢？猫起床的时候，太阳已经很高了。它跑到玉皇大帝那儿，可是十二个早就选好了。所以，十二生肖里没有猫。
这个故事，每个地方讲得都不太一样。有的说老鼠只是忘了，有的说它是故意不叫的。
猫相信哪一个？你看猫一见老鼠就追的样子，就知道了。
Key words
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 久 | jiǔ | long (time) |
| 以前 | yǐqián | before; previously; formerly |
| 动物 | dòngwù | animal |
| 先 | xiān | first; in advance |
| 起 | qǐ | to rise; to get up |
| 发现 | fāxiàn | to discover; to find; discovery |
| 河 | hé | river |
| 牛 | niú | cow; ox; cattle |
| 跳 | tiào | to jump; to leap |
| 面前 | miànqián | in front of; before; in the face of |
| 马 | mǎ | (vulgar) mother (used in curses as a stand-in for 妈) |
| 羊 | yáng | sheep; goat |
English (for the teacher)
In the Chinese zodiac, why does the rat come first? And why is there no cat? One folk tale tells it like this.
Long ago, the Jade Emperor wanted every year to have its own animal. He said, “Tomorrow, everyone cross the river and come to me.” “Whoever gets here first goes to the front.” “Twelve will be enough!”
Back then, the cat had a good friend: the rat. The cat loved its sleep, so it said to the rat, “Wake me up tomorrow morning, will you?”
The rat said, “No problem!”
The next day, the rat got up extra early. But it was so excited that it forgot all about the cat.
Only when it reached the river did it see that the river was too wide for it to cross. Just then, the ox came along. The rat jumped onto the ox. “Brother Ox, take me across the river!” The ox, a simple, honest soul, just nodded and waded into the river.
Just as the ox was about to reach the other bank, the rat leapt from its head and was the first to land in front of the Jade Emperor. The ox had to settle for second.
Next came the tiger, the rabbit, the dragon, the snake, the horse, the goat, the monkey, the rooster and the dog. Last came the pig. On the way, it ate when it got hungry and slept when it got sleepy.
And the cat? By the time the cat got up, the sun was already high in the sky. It ran to the Jade Emperor, but all twelve had long since been chosen. And that’s why there’s no cat in the Chinese zodiac.
Every place tells this story a little differently. Some say the rat simply forgot; others say it chose not to wake the cat.
Which one does the cat believe? Watch a cat go after a rat the moment it sees one, and you’ll know.