Zodiac animals
- their characters and placements

The celestial Jade Emperor came down into China to introduce a method with which we could measure time. He told all the animals on Earth that there'd be a swimming race across the fast flowing river. The first twelve to cross would be awarded by having a year of the zodiac named after them.

Each breed picked their fittest member who then lined up on the river bank. A mouse and a cat, who were good friends in those days, were poor swimmers and asked the strong cow to carry them across the river on his back. The cow agreed and off they went. The cow took the lead in the race but just before reaching the other side, the cunning mouse pushed the cat off the cow's back and leapt onto the bank to be the first winner.

The cow came second, and the poor cat was just swept away. Fortunately he survived but had no chance to have a year named after him. Disappointed and angry of being cheated by his so-called friend, he made sure all his descendants would forever chase mice.

A tiger was the third to arrive, and though a courageous beast, he was big cat and found the swimming most challenging. The Emperor was so impressed with the tiger's perseverance and named the third year after him.

A rabbit was next to arrive, but not by swimming. He cleverly noticed some stepping stones which he could hop along, and where the stones were too far apart he caught rides from floating logs. His ingenuity earned the rabbit fourth place.

The Emperor was surprised when a dragon flew down to clinch the fifth spot. The dragon could not only fly but was also a strong swimmer and the Emperor asked him why he hadn't been the first to arrive. The dragon explained that he noticed there hadn't been rain for a while and people were suffering. So his priority was to make rain before setting off. (An old Chinese proverb says "Dragons bring the clouds, tigers call forth the wind.) When he'd finished that task he set off overtaking the other animals until he saw a rabbit drifting on a log. So he blew a puff of wind which pushed the log ahead. The Emperor was thrilled to reward the dragon with the fifth year for his altruism.

Next to appear was a horse, but just before he could climb out of the river, a slippery snake slid from the horse's hoof where she'd been hiding as a stowaway. The snake leapt to reach the bank ahead of the horse, claiming the sixth year.

The horse was so shocked at seeing the snake and fell back into the river before he could complete his climb up the bank. But he did make the seventh position.

Next to arrive was a sheep, monkey and cock on a log. The cock had found the log near the river, and the sheep rolled it into the river with the monkey's help in clearing the path. The three of them used it to float across. The Emperor awarded the sheep with the eighth place for his strength, the ninth place to the monkey for his dexterity, and the tenth place to the cock for his observation skills.

The best of all swimmers was a dog and the Emperor asked why he was so far behind. The dog replied he knew he'd easily be in the top twelve, and that such an honour was worth appearing in a perfectly clean state. So he'd taken the opportunity to have a bath on the way.

The twelfth finalist was a boar. Not as proficient a swimmer as many other animals, but better than those who's crossed before him. And better still in snuffling food to satisfy their constant need to eat. So on the way, the boar had stopped to chew floating weeds, and even dropped off to sleep a couple of times on the way. But he made it across and was duly awarded the twelfth year.