On the day of the race, the rat and the cat both headed ... dog and pig as the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac.

the Chinese zodiac is composed of 12 different signs, each associated with a respective animal totem and lunar new year.

‘First year in the Chinese calendar goes to the ... ‘We’ll have a swimming race!’ said the Emperor. ‘The first twelve animals to swim across the river will have a year named after ...

and it goes a little like this… The story goes that a race was organised by the Jade Emperor - one of the most important gods in traditional Chinese religion - who invited all the animals in the ...