the Chinese Year of the Tiger, dedicated to Shan Matani Cheng, who supports story-nory on Patreon.

Hello, this is Janna, and I'm here with a story for the Chinese New Year,

otherwise known as the Lunar New Year, which is celebrated in many countries across Southeast Asia,

and even beyond, such as here in London. It is the most important day in the Chinese

calendar, where billions of people feast with relatives, watch parades, and pray for good fortune

for the year ahead. 2022 is the year of the Tiger. As you may know, every year in the Chinese calendar

is named after an animal. There are 12 in all. The Tiger comes third after the rat and the ox.

People born in the year of the Tiger are courageous and adventurous, but the Tiger did not always

represent those characteristics, as this story shows. A long time ago, the third animal in the

Chinese horoscope was the lion, not the Tiger. The lion was fierce and known as the King of the Forest.

The Tiger, meanwhile, was a cute and cuddly creature who never hurt so much as a fly.

He was big and strong for sure, but he did not know how to use his strength.

His favourite food was greens and spinach, known as hinchoi. If you stroked him behind the ears,

he would purr deeper than any pussycat. And if anyone so much as growled at him,

he shot straight up the nearest tree and cried. In other words, he was one big softy.

The lion, however, had rough manners and liked to boss around the other animals.

He knew how to use his strength, and if any animal dared to be cheeky to him,

he would swap them with his paw and knock them senseless.

Together with his best mates, the horse and the bear, he terrorised the other animals and bullied

them whenever he wanted to. The Jade Emperor was angry with the lion. He looked down from his throne

up in heaven and saw how the lion abused his strength and power. But who else can be king of

the forest, he asked? For none of the other animals come near him for strength and force.

...