Once upon a time there was a young man, hand some, diligent, and hon est. Or phaned in his early teens, his wicked big brother and his sis ter-in-law drove him out of the house, giv ing him no other pos ses sion than a weak, old buf falo. The buf falo, how ever, proved to be very loyal to its young owner, try ing its best to re lieve him of the toil in the paddy fields. The two be came in sep a ra ble friends. Gradually people be gan to forget his real name, Dong Yong, instead call ing him Cow herd.

Mean while, the youn gest of the seven ce les tial prin cesses known as Qixiannü (the Sev enth Fairy) had grown tired of the priv i leged but se cluded life in the Heavenly Pal ace. She longed for an earthly life be low, which she had been watch ing from her cham ber with great in ter est. That was a very perverse idea, in the opin ion of her par ents and her sis ters. Nev er the less, the Qixiannü had made up her mind to pursue what she deemed to be her own hap piness.

One day, the prin cess sneaked out of the Heav enly Pal ace and de scended onto the earth, where she trans formed her self into a young coun try woman who had lost her way. She stag gered along the coun try path beside the paddy fields where Cow herd was work ing. He stopped to ask where she was head ing and if she needed any help.

“To tell the truth,” the fairy be gan, “I am Qixiannü. I’ve been watch ing you work ing with your buf falo friend for a long time.”

“How come I did n’t see you watch ing me? There is noth ing to block my view here.” the in no -cent Cowherd asked.

“Of course you didn’t. I was up there,” the fairy gig gled, point ing to the sky with her slen der fin ger.

Re al iz ing his folly, Cow herd blushed. “Oh, I’ve heard of you.”

“Do you like me?” asked the fairy boldly.

“I like you, too. In fact, I want to be your wife,” the fairy pro posed. To Cow herd, it was a very un con ven tional move. He could not be lieve his ears. “Me, a poor cow herd, marry you, a fairy and daugh ter of the Jade Em peror of Heaven?”

“So what?” ques tioned the fairy.

“Don’t you see how poor I am? Except my old buf falo, I have noth ing. How can I bear see ing you suf fer with me?” ex plained Cow herd.

“Don’t worry. I know how to weave the best cloth in the uni verse, and I know you are a hard worker in the fields. With our honest la bor, we will have a happy life,” the fairy as sured him. They mar ried hap pily, and in two years they had a son and a daugh ter. While Cow herd worked in the fields with the buf falo, his fairy wife wove at home to help sup port the fam ily. The villagers all ad mired her excel lent weav ing skill and even tu ally gave her the nickname Weaving Girl.

The fam ily was en joying a mod er ate, peace ful life un til Weav ing Girl’s ce les tial par ents found her missing and traced her to the vil lage. It was believed that a day in heaven amounted to a year on earth, so the years she had spent with her mor tal hus band and chil dren were but a few days in heaven. The Jade Em peror and the queen were enraged that they gave their daugh ter an ul ti matum: ei ther come back home im me di ately or see her hus band and chil dren de stroyed. A lov ing wife and mother, Weaving Girl would never let her cruel par ents hurt her hus band and chil dren. She had to sur ren der to her cruel par ents and re turn to the Heavenly Palace. With great sor row, she parted from her dis -tressed hus band and chil dren.

The be reaved Cowherd had a hard time calming the moth er less chil dren and tuck ing them in. He did not know what to do with out his beloved wife. He went to the stable to see his old pal, the buf -falo, whose tacit friendship had all along been his solace. This time, he got more than he had ex -pected.

“Dong Yong,” the buf falo be gan to speak, to the great as tonish ment of Cow herd. “I’m dy ing. When I’m gone, skin my body.” Hear ing the buffalo’s last words, Cowherd’s feel ings went quickly from shock to despair and sor row.

“No, I can’t,” Cow herd re plied cat e gor i cally.

“Do as I bid you. You have no time to waste. Af ter you get my hide, sew it into a coat. Put it on, and it will take you to the Heav enly Palace. Then you and your chil dren will be able to join your wife.” With that word, the old buffalo dropped to the ground and breathed its last.

Cow herd was seized with grief and grat i tude. For the sake of the chil dren who missed their mother so much, he trusted what the buf falo had said and did as it requested. Af ter bury ing the car -cass, Cow herd sailed into the air, carry ing his young son and daugh ter, each in a bas ket on ei ther end of a shoul der pole.

See ing Cowherd com ing closer and closer to the Heav enly Pal ace, the Queen of Heaven drew a deep line across the sky with her hair pin. In stantly there ap peared a tor ren tial river, block ing the ad -vance of Cow herd. The river is known to the Chi nese as Yinhe (Sil very River), which West ern ers call the Milky Way. The Queen of Heaven meant to sep a rate the cou ple for ever with this in sur mount able ob sta cle.

How ever, mag pies from all cor ners of the world, deeply touched by the de vo tion of the young couple and angered by the cru elty of the ce les tial par ents, flocked to help Cow herd. It took them a year to gather to gether. Num ber ing in the thou sands of mil lions, they formed a bridge so that Cow -herd and Weav ing Girl could at least meet briefly