And the I'm going to be. Welcome to Snuscast, the podcast designed to help you fall asleep.

On Snuscast, we read excerpts from public domain works and occasionally original stories.

Listen to us on Snuscast.com, like our Facebook page, and follow us on Instagram. We'd like to thank our listeners. If you enjoy our show,

please write us a review on the Apple Podcasts app or wherever you listen. share it with a friend.

This episode is brought to you by

Constellations in the Sky.

Tonight by listening. Constellations in the Sky. Tonight, by listener request, we'll be reading two versions of a Chinese folk tale

called The Cowherd and the Weaver.

A story about Star-crossed lovers that spurred the Chinese equivalent of Valentine's Day,

the Kishi Festival, and also in Japan, the Star Festival, Tanabata. Let's get cozy. Close your eyes.

Relax your body into the softness of your bed.

Now. Now take a few deep breaths. The Heard Boy and The Weaving Maiden from the Chinese Fairy Book. Note The Heard Boy and the the

heard boy and the weaving maiden is retold after an oral source.

The herd boy is a constellation in a ke Aquila, the weaving maiden, one in Lyra.

The Silver River, which separates them, is the Milky Way.

The seventh day of the seventh month is the daughters in all who dwell in the nine heavens. The herd boy was the child of poor people.

When he was 12 years old he took service with a farmer to herd his cow.

After a few years, the cow had grown large and fat, and her hair shone like yellow gold. She must have been a cow of the gods. One day,

while he had her out at pasture in the mountains, she suddenly began to speak to the herd boy in a human voice as follows.

This is the seventh day. Now the white jade ruler has nine daughters who

bathe this day in the sea of heaven.

The seventh daughter is beautiful and wise beyond all measure.

...