There are many legends about the twelve Chinese zodiac signs, today, we talk about one legend among them, and we will introducing the three animals of the twelve—rat and ox.
在中国有很多关于十二生肖的传说。今天我们来介绍一下关于老鼠和牛的传说。

Legend
According to Chinese legend, the twelve animals quarreled one day as to who was to head the cycle of years. The gods were asked to decide and they held a contest: whoever was to reach the opposite bank of the river would be first, and the rest of the animals would receive their years according to their finish.
据中国古代传说，十二生肖有这样一个来历：有一天十二只动物竞相争论谁应该是领导年周期的第一个动物。最后它们让众神决定，众神于是说你们比赛吧，谁第一个到达河对岸那么谁就是年周期的头领，其余的动物要按照它们到达河对岸的顺序依次代表各自的年。

All the twelve animals gathered at the river bank and jumped in. Unknown to the ox, the rat had jumped upon his back. As the ox was about to jump ashore, the rat jumped off the ox's back, and won the race. The pig, which was very lazy, ended up last. That is why the rat is the first year of the animal cycle, the ox second and the pig last.
于是所有的动物都在河岸准备游过对岸去。当动物们都跳下河开始游泳的时候，老鼠趁牛不注意跳在了牛的背上，这样，当牛到达对岸时，老鼠从牛的背上跳下来获得了第一名。猪是十二只动物中最懒的，它是最后一个到达岸边的。这就是为什么年周期的第一年以鼠为代表，牛在其后，而猪则代表年周期的最后一年了。

 

一、Rat：Year 1912, 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996，2008

People born in the Year of the Rat are noted for their charm and attraction for the opposite sex. They work hard to achieve their goals, acquire possessions(财产cáichǎn), and are likely to be perfectionists(完美主义者wánměi zhǔyìzhě). They are basically thrifty(节约的jiéyuēde)with money. Rat people are easily angered and love to gossip(八卦báɡuà). Their ambitions are big, and they are usually very successful. They are mostcompatible(兼容的jiānrónɡde) with people born in the years of the Dragon, Monkey, and Ox.
鼠年出生的人一般都很聪明很引异性注目。他们勤奋工作以达到预定的目标，并获得财富。属鼠的人一般都是完美主义者，他们通常勤俭节约，但是很容易发脾气，并且喜欢八卦消息或是小道消息。他们的野心很大并通常都能够达到自己的目标。鼠年出生的人和牛年、龙年、猴年的人通常能够很好地相处。

二、Ox：Year 1913, 1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997，2009

People born in the Year of the Ox are patient, speak little, and inspire confidence in others. They tend, however, to be eccentric(古怪的人ɡǔɡuài de rén) and bigoted(顽固的wánɡùde) and they anger easily. They have fierce tempers and although they speak little, when they do they are quite eloquent(雄辩的xiónɡbiàn de). Ox people are mentally and physically alert. Generally easy-going, they can be remarkablystubborn(固执ɡùzhí) and they hate to fail or be opposed. They are most compatible with Snake, Rooster, and Rat people.
牛年出生的人极富耐心，少言寡语，并且在其他人中有很高的的威望。但是他们通常性格古怪顽固，并且极易生气。属牛的人在辩论时脾气暴躁虽然他们很少说话。牛年出生的人在精神上和身体上都很关注自己，简单的说他们非常固执，不喜欢失败和被反对。属牛的人和蛇年、鸡年、鼠年出生的人很容易相处。

This is the original of twelve Chinese zodiac signs, and tomorrow, we will continue to introducing the other animals about zodiacs, you will know more about the zodiacs in China.
这就是十二生肖的起源。明天我们继续介绍其他生肖。你会知道更多关于十二生肖的故事。