A Little Knowledge of Chinese History

Animal Games The Animal Olympics were held long-ago to determine which animal should start the 12-Year Cycle and comprised a race, plus a raging river-crossing, before a sprint home. Smart Rat gave the Cat (Tiger) the wrong start-time the day before. Rat then sneaked a ride and crossed the river on powerful Oxs back, before dashing over the finish line First (Ox came Second). The furious Tiger, arriving late for the race, came Third and has been chasing the Rat ever since! Lucky Rabbit found some stepping-stones and arrived next, in 4th place.

Noble Dragon Helped Rabbit Cross The River. The Chinese Character for ' Lung' (Dragon's Chinese Name) is Bottom Right!

Enter the Dragon The Dragon/Lung arrived next. Returning from making rain, Lung noticed Rabbit trying to cross a river using stepping-stones. The last stone was missing, but Rabbit couldnt see the attempt was doomed. Noble Dragon paused and used his mighty breath to blow a log into position, allowing lucky Rabbit to cross. Commended for such noble altruism, Dragon was awarded 5th place. Horse pounded powerfully towards 6th place without noticing Snake wrapped around a foreleg. Near the finish line, Snake jumped off and Horse reared up and leaped backwards in surprise. Taking advantage of this, Snake crossed the finish-line before Horse and so the two were awarded 6th and 7th place, respectively. Chicken on a Raft Goat, Monkey and Rooster suddenly arrived all-at-once, in a group. Rooster had found a raft but couldnt move it until Goat arrived and started to push. Monkey then appeared and helped launch the craft on which all three crossed successfully together. Congratulated for their team-work, Goat, Monkey and Rooster were awarded 8th, 9th and 10th place, in that order. Appearing on the scene next was Dog, looking smart and frisky. The river water was so clean and clear that Dog couldnt resist taking a bath in it, but still achieved 11th place. Finally, with an amiable grunt, Pig arrived. Stopping to eat on the way, Pig felt tired after the meal and fell asleep and so was consequently awarded 12th and last place in the Chinese Zodiac!