Legend has it that the 12 lunar-zodiac animals were selected by the Jade Emperor. He conducted a race of all the animals, and named years in the order that they finished. During the race across the countryside, the rat hitched a ride on the back of the slow but persistent ox. When the ox was a few feet from the finish line, the rat jumped off and raced ahead to claim the victory and the right to represent the first lunar-zodiac year. The rat also fooled the cat into believing that the race was to be held a day later, so the cat missed the race entirely. As a consequence of this trickery, the cat still chases the rat!