Origin stories

The twelve animal signs of the zodiac are, in order: Rat, Ox, Tiger,
Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and
Pig. There are several legends that explore the beginning of the
Chinese zodiac. One of the most popular, in summary, says the
following:

The rat was given the task of inviting animals to appear at the Jade
Emperor's banquet to be selected as signs of the zodiac. The cat was
a good friend of the rat, but the rat made him believe that the
banquet would be the next day. When the cat realized the rat's
deception, the rat became its natural enemy for generations to
come."

Another popular legend tells that the Jade Emperor organized a

race of animals to decide which ones would enter the zodiac.2

It is said that the rat and the cat were once very good friends.
Despite everything, these two animals were the worst swimmers in
the animal kingdom. Although poor swimmers, they were both
highly intelligent. They decided that the best and fastest way to
cross the river was on the back of an ox. The ox, being a good
animal, agreed to carry them across the river. However, because
there was a prize involved, the rat decided that in order to win he
had to do something, and so he threw the cat into the water. That is
why the cat became the natural enemy of the mouse and water. After
this, the rat reached the shore and claimed first place in the race.

Closely followed by the strong ox, which was named the 2nd animal
of the zodiac. After the ox came the tiger, who explained panting
how he fought against the currents. But his great strength made him
reach the shore and become the 3rd animal.

The 4th place in the zodiac went to the rabbit who, thanks to his
ability to jump, was able to jump from one shore to another. He
explained to the Emperor that he almost fell into the river had it not
been for a log floating in the water. Fifth place went to the dragon,
who was able to arrive flying. He explained to the emperor that he
could not get there first since he stopped to create rain to help the
people and creatures of the earth. Also, at the finish line, he found a
rabbit clinging to a log, which he helped by giving it a push with his
breath so that it could reach the shore. The emperor, surprised by
his kindness, awarded him the 5th place of the zodiac. Shortly after
the horse was heard galloping, which the snake gave a scare
making it fall, so that it came in 6th place and the horse in 7th.

A short distance from the place were the sheep, the monkey and the
rooster that approached the river bank. The three creatures helped
each other to cross the river. The rooster built a wooden raft for the
three animals. The sheep and the monkey cleared the undergrowth
and finally, rowing and rowing, managed to reach the opposite
bank. The emperor, very pleased with the teamwork of the animals,
named the sheep the 8th animal, the monkey the 9th and the rooster
the 10th.

The eleventh animal was the dog. Although the dog should have
gotten a good place as he was the best swimmer of all the animals,
he was delayed as he needed a bath after the long run and seeing
the fresh water of the river he couldn't resist. Just when the emperor
was about to close the race, he heard the growl of a small pig. The
pig started the race hungry, so shortly after it began, it feasted and
took a nap. When he woke up, he continued with the race and
arrived just to be named the twelfth animal of the zodiac. The cat
arrived too late (thirteenth) so he could not win any place on the
calendar, becoming the rat's enemy forever.

Another version says that the cattle chose the water buffalo instead
of the ox to represent them because it is a better swimmer. The deal
was accepted because both animals are members of the bovine
family.

Another version expands the race. The route runs through a forest
and through various plains and meadows and finally across a lake
before reaching the destination point.

Yet another variation of the story tells that there were two races.
The first race included all the animals of the animal kingdom, in two
divisions to prevent the fast animals from dominating the top
positions, and the six winners of each of the two divisions would
form the twelve animals that would participate in the second race.
In this race, the position in the Chinese zodiac would be determined
and is equivalent to the race of the traditional version.

In yet another version, each animal was called to explain why it

deserved one of the top positions in the zodiac. The boar claimed
that the meat on his bones was very good. This explanation seems to
be not very satisfactory since the boar was put at the end of the
zodiac.

Interestingly, the cat takes the place of the rabbit in the Vietnamese
zodiac.