Do you like fairytales? They come from all over the world. Often they go from one country to another and get changed. This one began in China, then spread to many other places in Asia and eventually even to Europe. There are quite a few versions. This is just one. It’s a love story. It’s also a story of how our galaxy was made. Today, some call it the “Double Seventh Festival,” because it takes place on the seventh day or the seventh month of the Chinese calendar. Others call it the “Magpie Festival.” You’ll find out why when you read the story. The names might be a bit strange, but try them a few times. You’ll get used to them.
Niulang was a cowherder. Each morning, he would lead the cows out into the field so they could graze, and each evening he would see that they were home and safe. It was a lonely job. It became more lonely at night when he crawled into his small bed with nothing but the sounds of the cows.
One day he saw a lovely maiden. She was sitting by a stream, weaving a tapestry. The clouds in it were exactly like the clouds weaved in the sky. They even seemed to move in the tapestry, just as they did in the sky. Niulang watched for a long time, in silence so he wouldn’t disturb the skillful maiden. Then each day, he would bring the animals to graze, and watch the maiden as she made a tapestry that changed with the sky. Or maybe the sky changed with the tapestry.
One day, the scene changed. It had cows in it. His cows. Watching over the cows, right there in the tapestry, was him. Niulang! He finally became bold enough to step over. “I am Niulang, the cow herder.”
“Yes, I know,” she said. “I am Zhinu, the weaver of the sky.”
From then on, his work to herd the cattle was no longer just a task. I gave him the chance to sit by Zhinu as she would weave ever more marvelous tapestries by the stream. Each day was better, more magical, than the one before. In time, they decided to marry. They had two children. Their happiness continued to grow. Then Niulang learned the secret. Zhinu was more than just a lovely weaver. She was a fairy princess. She was THE fairy princess who weaves clouds in the sky in all those endless patterns.
He learned this because Zhinu’s mother, goddess of the sky, was very angry that Zhinu had married a mere mortal. A mere human. With her powers, she reached down and threw them to opposite sides of the sky. To keep them apart, she used a magical hairpin to scratch a river in the heavens. Today we can still see it and call it the Milky Way. Niulang was on one side with the two children, Zhinu was on the other, alone. She would still weave, but the clouds now carried the teardrops of her sorrow. The more sad she felt, the more it rained.
The magpies of earth finally took pity. On the seventh hour, on the seventh day, of the seventh month, the magpies take to the sky. There they make a bridge across the heavens. For a short time, the two lovers can be together as last. Then they have to separate until next year at this same time.
Chinese Valentine’s Day.
The Double Seventh Festival.
The Magpie Festival.
