How did the zodiac come about ...?

It is said that ancient human knowledge is limited, and the calculation and distinction of years and months are unknown. So, at the request of human beings, Emperor Tiandi came up with some common animals to name each year.

But what animals should we choose? After careful consideration, Emperor Tiandi decided to hold an animal crossing the river on his birthday, and chose 12 animals as the zodiac to mark this year. After the news spread, all the animals longed for a place in the zodiac. In the end, the mouse used a trick to win the first place, the buffalo won the second place, the tiger won the third place, and so on, which is the ranking of the zodiac. It should have been the dragon first, but the dragon came late, because the emperor ordered it to rain, and the cat missed the game. Because the mouse deliberately told it the wrong time, it was not on the list of the zodiac, which is why the cat and the mouse were not * * *. Later, the Chinese zodiac became a way for mortals to record years, such as the Year of the Ox, the Year of the Dog, year of the snake and so on.