THE CAT AND THE RAT

Long ago, the God in Heaven spoke to all of the animals in the world. Twelve animals will be chosen to protect the world. Each one will do this for a year at a time. Come to my palace on the twelfth day of the first moon. The first twelve animals arrive will be chosen.”
All of the animals waited excitedly for the day. The Cat, however, was very forgetful and could not remember which day it was. So she asked the Rat, ‘Which day do we go to the Palace in Heaven to be chosen to protect the world?” The Rat wanted to be chosen so he said to the Cat, “On the thirteenth day of the first moon, we will all go to the palace.”
The Rat lived in the stable of the Ox. One evening, he heard the Ox getting ready to leave for the Palace. “Why are you leaving so early?” asked the Rat.
“Oh, my feet are so clumsy and slow,” answered the Ox, “I must go now or I won’t get there in time to be chosen.”
As soon as the Ox turned to go, the Rat jumped into the bag on his bag. The Ox did not know that he was carrying the Rat and walked slowly through the night until he reached the Palace. There were no other animals in front of him so he thought he must surely be the first. Just then, the Rat jumped out of the bag and ran to the gate.
“The very first is the Rat,” he called out to the Ox. The Ox was very angry but not as angry as the Cat. She went to the Palace on the thirteenth day as she had been told by the Rat. There was nobody about so she thought she must be the first. However, the guard called out to her.
“You are a day too late, Cat. The animals were chosen yesterday. First the Rat, then Ox, Tiger, Hare, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Cock, Dog and last of all, Bear. You shouldn’t be so sleepy, and look how dirty your face is! You should wash it better than you do.” With that he closed the gates.
Since then, the Cat has hated the Rat and has always tried to catch him. She also keeps washing her face with her tongue because the guard told her how dirty her face was.
(Favourite stories from Japan LL se Pordes)