The Chinese Zodiac Poem by Paula Glynn

The Chinese zodiac assigning an animal
With its traditional classification scheme
Magical characters in Chinese culture dreams
Its reputed attributes to each year
Making every vibrant personality clear
With all twelve animals in the Chinese zodiac
The Chinese zodiac very important to the people.

Traditional Chinese culture
Knowing the reflection of Chinese philosophy
And ancient and modern culture
Chinese folkways held that one's personality
Related to the attributes of their ancient zodiac animals
Originating from China, the zodiac and its variations
Remaining important in East Asian and Southeast Asian countries.

In legend, the Jade Emperor holding a contest to decide
Which animals would be lucky enough
To be included in the Chinese calendar
The winner of the race - the mouse -
Received the first year of the 12-year cycle
And so Chinese legend leads on believed by many
The Chinese zodiac holding strong across the world.

People born in any given year being one of the animals
Accordingly twelve animals are used for chronology
'Totem and celestial combination theory' origins
Puts forth the idea that the old Chinese zodiac
Is ancient animal totem worship combined
With astronomical images in astronomy
The explanation of totem and celestial combination scientific.

• 丑: Old Chinese *[n̥]ruʔ (compare Proto-Viet-Muong *c.luː 'water buffalo')
• 午: Old Chinese *[m].qʰˤaʔ (compare Proto-Viet-Muong *m.ŋəːˀ)
• 亥: Old Chinese *[g]ˤəʔ (compare Northern Proto-Viet-Muong *kuːrˀ)

The Chinese Zodiac Story

The Cat and the Rat were not good at swimming
But they were both quite intelligent
They decided that the best and fastest way
To cross the river was to hop on the back of the Ox.

The Ox, being kindhearted and naïve
Agreed to carry them both across
As the Ox was about to reach the other side of the river
The Rat pushed the Cat into the water
And then jumped off the Ox and rushed to the Jade Emperor
It was named as the first animal of the zodiac calendar.

The Ox had to settle in second place
The third one to come, was the Tiger
Even though it was strong and powerful
It explained to the Jade Emperor that
The currents were pushing him downstream.

Suddenly, from a distance came a thumping sound
And the Rabbit arrived
It explained how it crossed the river: by jumping
From one stone to another, in a nimble fashion
Halfway through, it almost lost the race
But it was lucky enough to grab hold of a floating log
That later washed him to shore
For that it became the fourth animal in the zodiac cycle.

In fifth place, was the flying Dragon
The Jade Emperor was wondering why
Such a swift airborne creature such as the Dragon
Did not come in first
The Dragon explained that it had to stop by a village
And brought rain for all the people
And therefore it was held back
Then, on its way to the finish, it saw
The helpless Rabbit clinging onto a log
So it did a good deed and gave a puff of breath
To the poor creature so that it could land on the shore
The Jade Emperor was astonished
By the Dragon's good nature
And it was named as the fifth animal.

As soon as it had done so, a galloping sound was heard
And the Horse appeared. Hidden on the Horse's hoof
Was the Snake, whose sudden appearance gave it a fright
Thus making it fall back and giving the Snake the sixth spot
While the Horse placed seventh.

After a while, the Goat, Monkey, and Rooster
Came to the heavenly gate
With combined efforts, they managed to arrive to the other side
The Rooster found a raft, and the Monkey and the Goat
Tugged and pulled, trying to get all the weeds out of the way
The Jade Emperor was pleased with their teamwork
And decided to name the Goat as the eighth animal
Followed by the Monkey and then the Rooster.

The eleventh animal placed in the zodiac cycle was the Dog
Although it should have been the best swimmer and runner
It spent its time to play in the water
Though his explanation for being late
Was because it needed a good bath after a long spell
For that, it almost did not make it to the finish line.

Right when the Emperor was going to end the race
An 'oink' sound was heard: it was the Pig
The Pig felt hungry in the middle of the race
So it stopped, ate something, and then fell asleep
After it awoke, it finished the race in twelfth place
And became the last animal to arrive.

The cat eventually drowned and failed to be in the zodiac
It is said that this is the reason cats always hunt rats
And also hate water as well.