The Chinese Zodiac

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The Chinese Zodiac

• A long, long time ago, there was no
  calendar in China. People had no way to measure
  time. They didnt know when to grow crops or
  when to expect the seasons.
• It was such an inconvenience!

Sandy Alice
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• The Great God wanted to help. He announced
  that he would set up a system. He offered to
  hold a contest on his birthday. The first twelve
  animals to arrive at the finish line would have a
  year named after them. All the animals were very
  excited!

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Rat was ambitious. It wanted to win the
first prize.
I must win!!
Yet, it had two problems. Rat was afraid that it
could not wake up on time. Also, the finish line
was across a river. Rat needed to find a way to
cross the river.
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Just when Rat was thinking about his problem, it
bumped into its best friend, Cat. The two
animals came up with a plan.

• They decided to ask Ox for help. Ox always got
  up early and he was a good swimmer.

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Ox could wake them up and carry them across the
river. Rat and Cat went to see Ox. The three
animals made an agreement. They promised to help
each other and share the prize.
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• On the day of the race, Ox woke up Rat and
  Cat and put them on his back. When Ox was half
  way across the river, Rat began thinking about
  the agreement. Why should I share the glory
  with Cat? Look at it! It just lies on Oxs back
  sleeping! What a lazy animal Cat is! Then Rat
  thought, What if Cat decides not to stay with
  the agreement? Cat runs fast. Cat can get to
  the finish line before me!

Hmm, what to do?
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Rat decided to get rid of Cat. Rat quietly
crawled to Cat and gave Cat a push. SPLASH! Cat
fell into the river. Cat didnt know how to
swim. Cat called out for help. Rat pretended
not to hear its shouts and told Ox to keep moving.
Help!
Bye, Bye!
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• Finally, Ox reached the other side of the
  river. Rat jumped from Oxs back and ran to the
  finish line. Ox could not believe its eyes! It
  called out, Wait for me! I thought that we had
  an agreement. And, where is Cat? Rat didnt
  stop. It kept on running. Rat won the contest!!
  Great God congratulated Rat and named the first
  year Rat.

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Next, Ox reached the finish line and took the
second spot. Ox was very angry with Rat. Rat
laughed and said, How dumb you are! Its your
own mistake to trust me! Ox wanted to argue with
Rat, but Ox was not very good at speaking clearly
so Ox decided not to say anything.
How dumb you are!
Uhh, Uhh!
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Next, Tiger arrived and took third place.
Great God waited for more animals to come.
Suddenly, he heard Thump, Thump, Thump. He saw
Rabbit jumping (or skateboarding) to the finish
line. Rabbit was fourth.
Next, Dragon came down from the sky and
took fifth place.
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Great God wondered how Rabbit
crossed the river and why Dragon
was late. Rabbit said that it jumped across the
river from one stone to another. Dragon
apologized to Great God for being late. It said
that, on the way it saw people crying. The
people told Dragon that they wanted to grow rice,
but there wasnt enough rain. Feeling sorry,
Dragon gathered clouds and made rain. Great
God was happy. He praised Rabbit for being so
smart and Dragon for being so kind.
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• Next to the finish line was Snake,

just ahead of Horse.
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Great God looked at the river and saw Monkey,
Goat and Rooster standing on a log and working
together to move the log across the river. Goat
took the eighth place, Monkey the ninth and
Rooster the tenth.
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After a while, no other animals showed up.
Then, suddenly, Dog appeared. Dog told Great God
that it could have been there earlier, but it had
stopped to play.
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• Now, just one spot was left in the Chinese
  Zodiac. Which animal would come next? All of
  the animals looked at a black dot that got bigger
  as it came closer. Aha! It was Pig. Pig told
  Great God that it overslept. Pig was happy to
  get the last prize!

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Great God gathered all the animals together
and congratulated them. All of a sudden, he
heard a noise from the river. It was Cat! Wet
and gasping, Cat ran to Great God and called out,
I am here! I am here! Did I win? Great God
told Cat that it was too late. He only needed
twelve animals for the Zodiac and Cat was number
thirteen.
Did I win??
Uh, oh!
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Cat was very angry and ran to Rat and wanted
to kill Rat. Rat was faster and ran under Great
Gods chair. Cat did not want to anger Great
God, so he didnt chase Rat, but Cat promised
that from now on Rat would be his enemy.
Even today, Rat always tries to stay away from
Cat!
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Tar
Rat
1. What was the first animal to arrive at the
finish line?
2. Can Rat be trusted?
No, he is not honest.
3. What was the second animal to arrive?
Ox
4. Why didnt Ox argue with Rat?
He cant speak clearly.
Tigre
5. Which animal was the third to arrive?
Tiger
Rabit
Rabbit
6. Who was fourth?
7. Why was Great God proud of Rabbit ?
Because Rabbit was smart.
8. Which animal arrived fifth?
Dargon
Dragon
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9. What animal was next?
Snake
10. Which animal arrived after snake?
House
Horse
11. Does a person born in year of the horse tell
the truth?
Yes, they are honest. They are also ___________
and ____________.
polite
hardworking
12. What three animals worked together to get
across the river?
Goat
Monkey
Rooster
13. Are people born in the year of the goat lazy?
No, they are so shy that they dont look
energetic.
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14. Which animal was number eleven?
Dog
15. Why was dog late?
He stopped to play.
16. What animal arrived next?
Pig
17. Why was pig late?
He didnt wake up.
18. What animal was the last to arrive?
Cat
19. Cat ran very fast to the Great God. He ran
___________.
quickly
20. Was cat successful?
No, he was the thirteenth animal. He did not get
a year.