The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl
Classical Stories · No. 22 — The two stars allowed to meet once a year.
- Classical Stories
- 47 min
- Ages 8–13
- 8 chapters
About this audiobook
Niulang the cowherd owns nothing but a patient old ox — who turns out to be a banished god, and who knows a secret: on certain days the weaver girls of heaven come down to bathe in a mortal river. Zhinü, granddaughter of the Queen Mother of Heaven, weaves the clouds themselves; but she stays for love of the cowherd, and for a few years heaven simply fails to notice two children and a happy farm. Heaven always notices eventually. What follows gives the night sky two of its brightest stars, the Milky Way its oldest story, and China a festival of love kept every seventh night of the seventh month.
Why it's worth a listen
Look up on a clear summer night: two bright stars stand on either side of the Milky Way, and for more than two thousand years China has told the story of why. A cowherd and his wise old ox, a weaver of clouds from the sky, a river of stars scratched between them — and a bridge built once a year by every magpie in the world. One of the most romantic star-stories ever told, and the origin of a festival still kept today.
A question to keep
Can love and duty both be kept — or must one always give way?
Chapters
- Introduction
- The Voice in the Stable
- The Colors of the Sky
- The Stolen Years
- The Hairpin of Heaven
- The River of Stars
- The Bridge of Wings
- A Question to Keep