02.20 十二生肖的排名是怎么来的？妈妈们对宝宝的生肖都是怎么解释的?

十二生肖自古就是中国传统文化中非常重要的一部分，那么十二生肖的排名又是怎么来的？妈妈们对宝宝的生肖都是怎么解释的呢？

​

十二生肖的故事

The Chinese Zodiac

There were 12 different animals representing each year by turn in the Chinese zodiac. They were the mouse, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and pig.

每年有12只动物在中国十二生肖中轮流出现。他们是老鼠，牛，老虎，兔子，龙，蛇，马，山羊，猴子，公鸡，狗和猪。

It was said that the jade emperor wanted to choose 12 different animals to be the protectors of new born babies in every year.

​

传说在很久很久以前，玉皇大帝要挑选十二种动物来保护每年新出生的宝宝。After the news came out, all animals knew about the zodiac contest.At that time the mouse and the cat were good friends.

这个消息传来，所有的动物都知道，会有一场动物比赛。当时，猫和老鼠还是好朋友。

"The jade emperor said the first 12 animals would be winners."The mouse told the cat excitedly. Thus The cat had a deal with the mouse to help each other win the contest.

“玉帝说前12只到达目的地的动物就会胜出。”老鼠兴奋地对猫说。因此，猫与老鼠达成协议，以帮助彼此赢得比赛。

Almost all kind of animals were looking forward to the contest except the lion. "I am the king of the beasts already. There is no need to take part in the contest. " the yawning lion said. However the dragon that could go up to the sky and go down in the sea did not think that way. "As a noble dragon, I should not miss the chance." he thought.

几乎所有的动物都很期待比赛。除了狮子。 “我已经是兽中之王了，就没有必要参加这种比赛了。”狮子边打哈欠边说。尽管如此，龙可不这么想，龙本领可大了，上可入天，下可入海。他想 “作为一条高贵的龙，我不能错过这个机会。”

At first, the dragon had no horns on his head. To make himself more beautiful, the dragon went to the rooster to borrow his horns.

起初，龙的头上并没有角。为了让自己更好看，龙去公鸡那里借他的角。

"With the heavy horns on your head, how can you run fast tomorrow, why don’t you lend them to me?" The dragon found the centipede to guarantee that he would return them back, so the rooster agreed.

“你头上有很重的角，明天你怎么能跑得快呢，你为什么不借给我？”龙找到了蜈蚣来保证他用完一定会把角还给公鸡，所以公鸡就同意了。

The next morning, the jade emperor waited at the contest site.The mouse got up very early and started out, he did not wake up the cat because he thought the cat was faster than him. All kinds of animals headed for the destination together. At last, they came to a wide river.

第二天早上，玉帝早就在比赛现场等着他们了。老鼠起得很早，但是他没有叫醒猫，怕猫比他快。各种各样的动物都出发了，一起前往目的地。最后，他们来到一条宽阔的河流。

​

"I can't swim." Many of them stopped and said. At this time, they came to the kind hearted ox." Would you please give us a ride ?" "No problem", the ox said.

“我不会游泳。”他们中的许多人停下来说道。此时，他们来到了善良的牛。“你能可以带我们过去吗？” “没问题”，牛说。

Soon many animals jumped on his back, including the mouse, rabbit, snack, rooster and so on. As the mouse held onto the horns, he jumped off as the ox was near the shore.

很快，很多小动物都爬到了牛的背上，包括老鼠，兔子，蛇，公鸡等。当快到岸的时候，老鼠一下子抓到了牛的角，跑到了牛的前面。

Therefore the mouse was the first, and the ox the second. The next winners in order were the tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig.

因此，鼠成为了第一名，牛第二名。他们的顺序依次是虎，兔，龙，蛇，马，羊，猴，鸡，狗和猪。

Thus the jade emperor declared that the 12 animals got the great job. Every 12 years, they took turns to take care of the new born babies of each year. Since then, every child belonged to his or her own zodiac.

因此，玉帝宣称这12只动物胜出。他们每年轮流照顾新生的宝宝，十二年一个轮回。从此以后，人人都有一个属相。

From then on, the cat always tries to eat mouse for his betrayal. The dragon never gave the horns back. The rooster could only go to the centipede, but the centipede not only laughed at him but also called him an idiot. The rooster was so angry that his rooster's comb turned red.

从那时起，猫吃老鼠来惩罚它的背叛。公鸡只能去蜈蚣去理论，但蜈蚣不仅嘲笑他，还骂他是个笨蛋。