I write regarding to the letter Year of the Cat (January 11). It is not the Chinese Year of the Cat this year - although, the Year of the Tiger hasn't ended yet, so cats still rule. It is the year of the rabbit.
In the Chinese story, the Jade Emperor called all the animals to attend him, because he wanted to name the years after them. The cat and the rat were good friends then, and then as now the cat was fond of sleeping. So she asked the rat to wake her early.
But the rat looked at the sleeping cat, and thought about how beautiful and talented she was and his heart sank to think that with her present, he would not stand a chance of getting his own way. He tiptoed away, failing to wake the cat. So the cat never got a year, and the cat has hated the rat implacably ever since.
The rat, by further chicanery, managed to be first in line and have the first year named after him, but that is another story. By the way, in the Millennium year which follows (if it is!) we have the Chinese year of the Dragon, the most noble of all the zodiac.
Carole Chui,
Old Moor Lane,
York.
Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article