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One day, “at the dawn of the dawn of the world,” the Great Emperor of Heaven invites all the animals to visit him at the top of Jade Mountain. The cat and the rat, who are the best of friends, promise to travel together to see the Great Emperor.
The rat (who we’re told is “a rascal”) slips out secretly the next morning without waking the poor cat. He jumps up between the horns of the ox who is traveling with other animals up the Jade Mountain and is thus able to reach the top of the mountain without exerting himself. When the ox finally reaches the mountain peak, the rat simply leaps up over the ox’s head and becomes the first animal to reach the Great Emperor of Heaven.
The twelve animals who have come to see the Great Emperor of Heaven are awarded stewardship of each year of the zodiac in the order in which they had arrived: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig. The rat is rewarded with the first year of the 12-year zodiac for his lively and cunning spirit.
As for the cat, he never speaks to the rat again.
Marie Sellier successfully adapts an ancient Chinese Buddhist legend from the Han Dynasty for young children. Her work is enhanced brilliantly by black, white and red linoleum prints by Catherine Louis and stunning calligraphy by Wang Fei. This is the same internationally acclaimed team that collaborated on Legend of the Chinese Dragon. Like their previous effort, What the Rat Told Me: A Legend of the Chinese Zodiac is a visual delight, a beautiful book to be treasured.
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What the Rat Told Me