zodiac

Once upon a time, a long, long time ago, the gods were bored, so they decided to hold a great banquet - a banquet for all the animals in the land. Invitations were sent out straight away: "The first 12 animals will be rewarded with the highest honor. They will be put in charge of one year every 12 years, in the order that they arrive. Together they will be the signs of the zodiac."

At the time, the cat and the rat were the greatest of friends. They did everything together. They lived together, they ate together, they were inseparable. But the rat was mischievous. He liked to play tricks. The invitation arrived and the cat, who was lazy, said, "When is it? I can't be bothered reading it." "It's the day after tomorrow," the rat said. The banquet was, in fact, the next day.

That night, the animals went to sleep early. They wanted to get a good night's sleep before the morning rush. Only the ox stayed awake.. He knew he was slow so he decided to set off while it was still dark. He wanted to be the first in the 12-year cycle. And so did the rat, and when the rat saw the ox leaving early, he jumped on his back. The ox did not notice.

The following morning, one by one, the rest of the animals woke.They yawned, they stretched and they set off for the banquet. They walked quietly so that the others wouldn't wake up.The cat, who loved to sleep, slept throughout it all.

Meanwhile, the ox had arrived at the banquet first - or so he thought. The gods laughed. "Sorry, old boy," they said. "You are Number Two." They pointed at the rat. The rat had jumped off the ox's back just before the ox had arrived. He had beaten the ox to the banquet.

The other animals started approaching. On the road, there was a great jostling of claws and paws and elbows and tails. Tempers were short. "Get your ears out of my feathers," screamed the rooster at the rabbit. "Get your smelly bottom out of my face," shouted the dragon at the boar. But soon everyone was sitting down and drinking. The first 12 animals, in order, were the rat, the ox, the tiger, the rabbit, the dragon, the snake, the horse, the goat, the monkey, the rooster, the dog and the boar.

The cat was still asleep when everyone returned. He woke when a very drunk horse stepped on his tail. It didn't take him long to find out that he had been tricked. "Why, you dirty little..." he growled. "I've been left out of the zodiac because of you." The cat leaped at the rat. He wanted to kill him. The rat squealed and ran. From that day on, the rat and the cat have been the greatest of enemies.