Next year is the Year of the Rat. Is there anything interesting about mice?

There is an interesting legend: In ancient times, there was a "branch chronology method" that heavenly stems and earthly branches first cooperated with. In practice, our ancestors felt that the chronology of cadres and branches was complicated, and it was difficult to be deeply rooted in people's hearts. Therefore, it is suggested that the zodiac be used to mark the year. The Yellow Emperor agreed to this suggestion and ordered Cang Xie to do it. On the first day of the first month of this year, all the animals in the world were gathered in front of The Yellow Emperor's Palace Temple to take part in the election. When the animals heard the news, they all cheered and rushed to prepare for the meeting. Among them, the cow knew that her legs and feet were slow, so she left home on New Year's Eve and got the first place in the exam. The second is a tiger, the third is a rabbit, the fourth is a dragon, and then there are snakes, horses, sheep, monkeys, chickens, dogs, pigs and mice. Dragons are dignified, covered in scales and shining; Eyes are round, like bright lights; Silver beard and gold beard, fluttering in the wind; Tiger feet and eagle claws, riding fog clouds. The fly in the ointment is that the top of the head is bare, as if something is missing. When Kong Lung jumped out of the pool, he saw the rooster. I see that the rooster not only has beautiful feathers, but also has a pair of beautiful horns on his head. I couldn't help but get excited and borrowed the horn on his head. The rooster shook his head and said, "No, I have to go to the election meeting of the zodiac tomorrow!" " "The dragon said," the horn on your head is redundant. With your colorful clothes, you will be chosen. "The rooster loves flattery and is willing to lend his horn to the dragon, but he still can't bear it. Just then, a big centipede climbed up and said, "Brother Chicken, lend your horn to Brother Long. If you don't trust me, how about I be the guarantor? "The cock saw a centipede as a guarantee and agreed. The dragon was so happy that he promised to return the horn to the rooster immediately after the election meeting of the zodiac. Besides, mice and cats are good friends. The cat is sleepy. Before going to the meeting, the cat said to the mouse, "will you call me early tomorrow morning?" "The mouse nodded and said," OK, I will definitely call you. " In this way, the cat went to sleep peacefully. When the mouse woke up, it was already late. He hurried to call the cat, and when he saw the cat sleeping soundly, he thought, why should there be another competitor? He left the cat and turned out to be the last one present.

The election meeting of the zodiac is so lively! Those who fly in the sky, those who run on the ground, those who swim in the water and those who live in trees are all gathered together. Bustling, very lively. The Yellow Emperor selected twelve kinds of animals from all kinds of birds and animals and ranked them. The Yellow Emperor thought: Although the cow is clumsy, it is tall and strong, with infinite strength, and it is the first, so the steak is decided first. Rats are humble, they should come last. As soon as the voice of the Yellow Emperor was spoken, the mouse had a brainwave and quickly jumped in front of the Yellow Emperor and said, "If you want to talk big, you have to count me in. If you don't believe it, please let the people identify it. " The Yellow Emperor was amused by the mouse's words. This little guy said, "Since we have chosen the Chinese zodiac for the people, let the people identify it." So he ordered all twelve kinds of animals to walk in the street. When the cow walked into the street, people were very friendly to it. Some touched its head and some praised it, but no one said it was big. At this time, the mouse suddenly jumped on the cow's back, which startled people. I heard someone in the crowd exclaim, "Oh dear! Where did such a big mouse jump out! " This cry made the mouse show off, and the Yellow Emperor couldn't break his word, so he had to put the mouse first in the zodiac.

At the election meeting of the zodiac, the mouse was not only selected, but also ranked first, so it was naturally proud. When I got home, I saw the cat just waking up and said, "Mao Ge, the Zodiac Festival is over, and I was elected the first." Hearing this, the cat shouted, "What? Why didn't you wake me up? You are an evil bad thing. " Then he pounced on the mouse. When the mouse saw that the cat really turned over, it was scared and hurriedly fled back to the mouse hole. Since then, cats and mice have become sworn enemies, which have continued to this day.

Besides, the rooster was behind the dragon. He was unconvinced and regretted lending his horn to the dragon. After the meeting, the rooster hurried to the dragon and begged for his horn. When the dragon saw the rooster, he knew he was wrong, but he didn't want to give it back such a beautiful horn. He jumped into the deep pool beside him and hid. The cock can't swim, so he has to go to the centipede as a guarantor. The centipede said, "You still have to ask the dragon for your horn, but he just won't give it back. What can I do? " Say that finish, centipede also hid. Since then, the rooster has no horns on his head, leaving only a red comb. Climb high every morning and shout, "Brother Long, give me back my horn!" " "I usually dig centipedes everywhere with my claws and peck at them as soon as I see them.

After the zodiac was selected and arranged in order, the Yellow Emperor ordered Cang Xie, who created the characters, to carve the names of the zodiac on the stone tablet, which has been passed down to this day.