Sunday, February 6th, was Lunar New Year’s Day. This is the year of the tiger; last year was the year of the ox, and next year will be the year of the rabbit. Altogether, there are twelve different animals that the years are named after. Why is each year named after an animal?
2月6日星期日是農曆新年，今年是虎年，去年是牛年，明年會是兔年，總而言之，一共以12種不同的動物來命名每一年，但為什麼要以動物來命名呢?
There are many different stories, but one interesting story is about the Jade Emperor, who is the ruler of heaven. Long ago in China, the Jade Emperor decided there should be a way of naming the years. He told the animals that there would be a race across a fast-flowing river. The first twelve animals across the river would be the winners, and they would each have a year named after them.
這有許多不同的故事，但其中一個故事是有關主宰天堂的玉皇大帝。很久以前，在中國，玉皇大帝決定應該要有一個命名每年的方法，祂告訴動物們將會有一個渡河的競賽，最快渡過河流的12種動物是贏家，將會以牠們的名字來命名每一年。
All the animals lined up along the river bank. The rat and the cat, who were good friends, were worried because they were poor swimmers. They were clever, though, so they asked the ox to carry them across the river. The ox agreed, so the rat and the cat quickly jumped on the ox’s back. The ox swam very well, and was winning the race. But the rat was very sly, and wanted to win very badly. He pushed the cat off the ox’s back, leaving the cat to struggle in the water. And then, just before the ox made it to the other side, the rat jumped onto the ox’s head, and onto the river bank. The rat had won, and so the Jade Emperor named the first year after the rat. The ox came in second, so he got the second year. The cat never finished the race, so he never got a year named after him. This is why cats and rats hate each other to this day.
所有的動物在河床起跑。老鼠和貓是好朋友，牠們對這個比賽很擔心，因為牠們的游泳技術不好。但是牠們很聰明，牠們問牛是否能夠載牠們渡河，牛答應了，所以老鼠和貓馬上跳到牛的背上。牛的泳技很好，而且處於領先狀態。但是老鼠十分狡猾，非常想要贏得比賽，而把貓推下牛的背，讓貓在水中掙扎。然後，在牛快要到對岸時，老鼠跳到牛的頭上，並跳到對岸。老鼠贏了，玉皇大帝以老鼠命名第一年，牛是第二名。所以以牛命名第二年。貓沒有完成比賽，沒有辦法以牠命名。這也就是為什麼從此以後貓這麼痛恨老鼠的原因了。
Before long, the tiger made it to the shore, so the Emperor gave him the third year. The rabbit was next; though it couldn’t swim, it hopped across the river on stones and floating pieces of wood. Then the dragon flew across, followed by the snake and the horse. The eighth, ninth, and tenth years went to the goat, the monkey, and the rooster, who came across the river in a small boat.
不久後，老虎抵達岸上了，所以玉皇大帝以老虎命名第三年。接下來是兔子，兔子不會游泳，但是牠利用河裡的石頭和漂流木渡河。然後是飛過河的龍，接著是蛇，然後是馬。而第八、九、十名分別是羊、猴子、雞，牠們搭著小船過河。
The dog arrived next; even though he was one of the best swimmers, he had stopped to play in the cool clean water. Last of all was the pig. “What took you so long?” the Jade Emperor asked the pig. The pig replied, “I was hungry, to I stopped to eat, and then I was tired, so I took a nap.”
下一個抵達的是狗，雖然牠是最會游泳之一，牠中途停下來在清涼乾淨的水中玩耍。而最後一個是豬。玉皇大帝問豬說：「你怎麼這麼慢才到？」豬回答：「我剛好餓了，停下來吃東西，吃完後就累了，所以我睡了一會兒。