CNY - Animal Zodiac Story

I'm collecting folklores, legends and myths relating to the Chinese tradition / culture so that my kids won't forget their roots. How many of us really know these stories, I sure don't. Since it's now the Chinese New Year season, I shall start with my very first story - a story about how the Animal Zodiac came to be :-)

The Twelve Animal Zodiac

A long long time ago, before his departure from earth, Buddha decided to have a grand race and all the animals in the kingdom were invited. Unfortunately only 12 animals showed up at the event. Grateful for their efforts, Buddha rewarded them, by naming each year of the Chinese Zodiac calendar, after these 12 animals. And it was arranged according to the order of their arrival. The 12 animals that came for the grand race were a rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and pig.

Cat and the Rat

Upon hearing of Buddha's invitation to the grand race, the Cat invited his best friend, the Rat to join him, and they agreed to go together. But the Cat has the habit of taking his own sweet time to wake up. So fearing he might miss the grand race, he asked the Rat to wake him up the next morning.
The Rat however forgot his promise and left without his best friend, the Cat. Alas, when the Cat finally woke from his sleep, it was already too late. The Cat did not make it to the race on time and hence, there was no year in the Chinese Zodiac named after him. This is why, till this day, the Cat will always hunt the Rat.
 

The cunning Rat

The Rat was actually too excited about entering the race, that's why he forgot to wake up his friend, the Cat. Along the way, the Rat saw other animals were in front of him and they all can run much faster. Before the finishing line, there is also a river to cross and it is not a small river! It is still a long way to go and the Rat is already feeling tired. He is also a poor swimmer. So in order not to be falling behind them, he came out with a brilliant idea. He knows that the Ox is the mightiest swimmer and being a very straightforward animal, will believe in anything. So he pleaded with the Ox to let him ride on its head, and tried to convince the Ox that he, being a small animal, will not be able to run faster than him. The Ox, being a kind and straightforward animal, agreed to let the Rat ride and swim across together. As they neared the shore, the Rat quickly jumped off the Ox's back and sprint to the finishing line. Hence the Rat was the first to arrive followed by the Ox. The first year in the Chinese Zodiac calendar is therefore named after the cunning Rat and the second, after the Ox.  
 

Year of The Tiger

Not far behind is the Tiger. Although the Tiger is a fast animal, he had a problem when trying to cross the river. The heavy current kept pushing him downstream but with all his might, he finally managed to get to shore and came third in the race. So the third year of Chinese Zodiac calendar is named Year of the Tiger.
 

Year of the Rabbit

Then suddenly the Rabbit appeared. He was all wet and looking very tired. He tried to cross the river by jumping from stone to stone, but lost his balance and was almost drowned. Fortunately he managed to hold on to a floating log and later got on to shore. So the fourth year in the Chinese Zodiac calendar is the Year of the Rabbit.
 

Dragon Year

Although the Dragon can fly, he only came in fifth. Apparently he had to slow down as he had to make rain, for all the people and all the creatures on earth. And he also saw the poor Rabbit holding on to the floating log, struggling to stay afloat. So he puffed and puffed his breath, to push the log to shore. The Rabbit never realized that he was saved by the Dragon. That is why babies born in Year of Rabbit always enjoy good fortune in the Year of Dragon!
 

The Horse, then the Snake

As soon as the Dragon took his seat, next to the Rat, Ox, Tiger and Rabbit, the Horse came charging in. He thought that he will be the sixth animal to arrive, but he was wrong. Unaware to the Horse, the Snake had clung on to the his leg, and the moment they are about to reach the finishing line, the Snake quickly jumped. At that moment, the Horse, taken by surprised, lunged backward and hence, lost to the Snake, who claimed the 6^th position.
 

Then came in the Goat, Monkey and Rooster

Moments later, the Goat, Monkey and Rooster came in almost together. Just before crossing the river, the Rooster saw the Monkey and the Goat. He thought it will be better if they work and help each other, to cross the river, rather than just doing it all by himself. So together they make a raft. But it wasn't easy with all three of them on a small raft. They had to push and pull and finally managed to cross the river. Running to the finishing line, the Goat managed to arrive first followed by Monkey then Rooster.
 

The Dog then the Pig

Although the Dog is a good swimmer, he came in at the 11^th place. He was a playful animal and was splashing around in the water too much, leaving others to overtake him. Long after all the eleven animals had arrived, the Pig finally appeared. In fact Buddha had given up hope of any more animals arriving when he suddenly heard the oink oink. The Pig as expected, was hungry and although he was in the race, he decided to stop to eat. He ate too much and grew sleepy and finally dozed off. He was lucky to wake up just in time to come in 12^th, the last position.

And this was how the Chinese calendar years got its animal name!

(Story is taken from http://greatstuff.hubpages.com/hub/Chinese-Zodiac-Story)

I told H he was born in the year of the Rat, L in the year of the Tiger and both mommy and daddy are Rabbits. H said he didn't want to be a Rat, he wants to be a Tiger just like mei-mei.

The Not so Big Bad Wolf

Adapted from the "Three Little Pigs" story to teach kids not to be judgmental and to always give someone the benefit of the doubt.

 

Once upon a time there were three little pigs - Polly, Pepper and Pinky. One day mommy pig said, "Little pigs, you're all grown up now. You need to go and build your own home. But beware of the Big Bad Wolf!"

Polly built his house out of straw. It was a pretty house. One day, the Big Bad Wolf came and knocked on the door. "Let me in little Pig," said the Big Bad Wolf. "No way," said Polly. So the Big Bad Wolf huffed and puffed and blew the house down. "I just wanted to...," but before he could finished, Polly was running away as fast as he could before he became breakfast.

Pepper built his house out of sticks. It was a pretty house. One day, the Big Bad Wolf came and knocked on the door. "Let me in Little Pig," said the Big Bad Wolf. "No way," said Pepper. So the Big Bad Wolf huffed and puffed and blew the house down. "I just wanted to...," but before he could finished, Pepper was running away as fast as he could before he became lunch.

Pinky was the smartest little pig. He built his house out of bricks. It was a pretty and strong house. Polly and Pepper came to live with him. One day, the Big Bad Wolf came and knocked on the door. "Let me in Little Pigs," said the Big Bad Wolf. "No way," said Polly, Pepper and Pinky together. So the Big Bad Wolf huffed and puffed and huffed and puffed, but he just could not blow the house down. "I just wanted to be your friend," sobbed the Big Bad Wolf.

The three little pigs looked out of the window and saw the Big Bad Wolf crying. He didn't look so big and bad after all, but they wouldn't take the chance. Seeing that he couldn't get in, the Big Bad Wolf left the currant cake he baked outside Pepper's brick house and went home. There was a note on the cake, and it read, "Please be my friend, xoxo the not so big bad wolf".

The next day, Polly, Pepper and Pinky were having a picnic by the river. Suddenly, Pinky slipped and fell into the river. None of the piggies could swim, so Polly and Pepper started shouting for help. "Help! Help! Pinky is sinking!"

The Big Bad Wolf heard the cry. He ran to the river as fast as he could, jumped into the water and dragged Pinky out. The three little pigs were extremely grateful. "Thank you so much Big Bad Wolf. You saved Pinky. You're not so big and bad after all."

They then invited the Big Bad Wolf to their picnic. They had a great time eating, singing and playing. From then on, the three little pigs and the big bad wolf became good friends :-)

Polly Pig wants to fly

This is a story to teach kids about perseverance. It's ok if you don't succeed the first time, you just need to try and try again!

Polly pig is a piggy with big dreams. He wants to fly! But pigs can't fly, that's what everyone tells him, including his very best friend Wolly wombat. But Polly wouldn't listen. He dreams of flying every second of the day - when he wakes up in the morning, when he's having lunch, when's he in school, when he's having dinner, even when he's sleeping!

One day, Polly saw a bird. "Can you teach me how to fly?" asked Polly. Mr Bird looked at Polly and said "Pigs can't fly, you have no wings". So Polly went home and made himself a pair of wings. He climbed up the tree, spreaded out his wings and jumped.... whhhheeeeeeeeee.... opppsss... and plop! Polly fell into a muddy puddle. But he didn't give up. "I must think of another way" said Polly.

The next day, Polly met a flying squirrel. "Can you teach me how to fly?" asked Polly. Mr Flying Squirrel looked at Polly and said "Pigs can't fly, you have no stretchy skin like mine". He stretched out his arms and legs to show Polly his parachute-like skin on the sides of his body. "Wow, I'm gonna have to make myself a glider" said Polly.

So home Polly went and made himself a glider. His first glider was good, but not quite good enough. He managed to glide from one tree to the next before we went plop into the muddy puddle. But Polly didn't give up. He went home and made a second glider. This one was better, but also not quite good enough. He managed to glide from one tree to the second to the third before he went plop into the muddy puddle. But did Polly give up? NO! He went home and made a third glider. Wolly cheered for Polly when he made his third try with his third glider. This glider was good. It was so good that Polly glided from tree to tree without falling. Wolly clapped and cheered! "You're flying Polly, you're flying!"

"Yes yes yes, I'm flying!!! Woo hoo!!!" Polly was very very happy. He was finally flying. Who said pigs can't fly? All the animals came out to see Polly the flying pig. They were amazed. Everyone clapped and cheered. "Polly is flying! There really is a flying pig!"

At the end of the story I concluded by telling H "See, Polly didn't give up right, he tried and tried again and he finally could fly. H nodded.
Me: What must you do if you can't do it the first time?
H: Try and try again! 
:-)

Lizzie and her Spaghetti Hotdog

Learning about acceptance and self-confidence, i.e. it's ok to be different, you don't always have to conform to peer pressure

Lizzie is a special little girl. Unlike other kids who love hotdogs with sausages in the middle, Lizzie likes her hotdog with spaghetti in the middle :-)

One Monday, Lizzie's school was serving hotdog. All the kids queued up to get their hotdogs from the school chef. When it came to Lizzie's turn, she said "I don't like sausages. Can I have spaghetti in my hotdog instead?"

All the kids looked at Lizzie and giggled. "Spaghetti in hotdogs, now that's silly!"

Lizzie didn't get upset. She just smiled and said to the kids "it's nice if you give it a try" but nobody did. They just continued giggling while pointing at Lizzie's spaghetti hotdog.

On Tuesday, Lizzie's school served burgers with beef patties in the middle. All the kids queued up to get their burgers from the school chef. When it came to Lizzie's turn, she said "I don't like beef patties. Can I have spaghetti in my burger instead?"

Again all the kids started giggling, "spaghetti burger, now that's silly!"

Again Lizzie smile and politely invited the kids to try it. One brave boy stood up and said "I'll try and let you know how yucky it is". He took a bite and grinned... "Mmmmmm... Lizzie's right. It's yummy!"

The one by one the kids took turns to try. "Yes Lizzie's right. Hooray for spaghetti burger!"

On Wednesday and the rest of the week, the kids had spaghetti everything. And they learnt that it's ok to be different, even you should never be ashamed of being different!

After the story I asked H if it's ok to have spaghetti hotdog. He giggled and said "no, that's silly". I guess he's too young to really understand the moral behind the story, but hopefully he knows how to stand up for himself and not get upset if he gets teased or laughed at for doing things differently :-)