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A Love Story
Chinese Valentine's Day is on the 7th day of the 7th lunar month in the Chinese calendar. A love story for this day is about the 7th daughter of Emperor of Heaven and an orphaned cowherd. The Emperor separated them and the 7th daughter was forced to move to the star Vega and the cowherd moved to the star Altair. They are allowed to meet only once a year on the day of 7th day of 7th lunar month.
The story began from the good-looking poor orphaned boy living with his elder brother and sister-in-law. After his parents passed away, his brother inherited the house and the land. The boy owned an old ox. He needed to work on the farm with the ox everyday. So he was called a Cowherd. His daily life was just like in a Cinderella story.
The 7th daughter of Emperor is good at handcrafting, especially weaving the cloth of the world. So she was called a Weaving Maid. The Emperor liked her skill to weave clouds and rainbows to beautify the world.
The cowherd’s ox was actually an immortal from the Heaven. He made mistakes in the Heaven and was punished by being an ox in the Earth. One day, the ox suddenly said to the Cowherd, "You are a nice person. If you want to get married, go to the brook and your wish will be come true." The Cowherd went to the brook and saw all 7 pretty daughters of Emperor came down from Heaven and take a bath in the water. Fascinated by the youngest and also the most beautiful one, he secretly took away her fairy clothes. The other six fairies went back after their bath but the youngest couldn't fly back without her fairy clothes. Then the Cowherd appeared and told her that he would not return her clothes unless she promised to be his wife. After a little hesitation and with a mixture of shyness and eagerness, she agreed to the request from this handsome man. So they married and had two children within two years.
One day, the old ox was dying and told the cowherd that after he was gone, the Cowherd should keep his hide for emergency purposes.
The Emperor found the sky was not as beautiful as before without the 7th daughter weaving clouds and rainbows. He asked his daughter's grandmother to find the missing daughter and to bring her back. .While the 7th princess was flying to Heaven with her grandmother, the cowboy wore the ox hide, took his children in two bamboo baskets with his wife's old fairy clothes and chased after his wife in the sky. The grandmother made a milky way in the sky with her hairpin, which kept them separated. The 7th princess was moved to the star Vega (The swooping - Eagle) in the Lyra (Harp) constellation. And the cowherd with his two children stayed in the star Altair (Flying one) in the Aquila (Eagle) constellation. The star of Vega is also known as the Weaving Maid Star and the star of Altair is as the Cowherd Star in China.
Magpies were moved by their true love and many of them gathered and formed a bridge for the couple to meet in the evening of the 7th day of the 7th lunar month, which is the day the Emperor allowed them to meet once a year.
They say it is hard to find a magpie on Chinese Valentine's Day in China, because all magpies fly to make the bridge for the Weaving Maid and Cowherd. This is proven by the fact that there are less feathers on the head of the magpies after Chinese Valentine's Day. If, on the night of Chinese Valentine's Day there is rain, then it is said that the rain are the tears of the Weaving Maid and Cowherd.
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