I remember when I was a child, there was a small forest at the east end of the village. Every summer night falls, the cool breeze blows there, making it a good place for people to relax and chat. My grandpa and I often go there to enjoy the cool air. While enjoying the cool air, my grandpa will tell me some ghost stories…
Among them is a folk legend about a cowherd boy marrying the moon, which is still interesting when I think about it.
Once upon a time, there was a big evil dog in the sky who always wanted to eat the moon, so that there would be no light in the night in the sky and on earth, thus turning the world into darkness. So this big evil dog chased the moon all night long in order to swallow it up as soon as possible. So the moon couldn't stay in the sky anymore and hid in the human world.
There was a young man named Erniu who was herding cattle in the village. Since his family was poor, he made a living by herding cattle for others.
One summer, Erniu went to graze cattle in a grassland far away from the village. When he came back, it was already very late, and the moon in the sky had disappeared. The whole sky and earth were dark, and nothing could be seen. not see. When he drove the cattle to the small river at the east end of the village, he found a round, shiny big plate in the river. He was very curious, so he took a closer look and found that the big plate was actually the moon. The moon If you are not in the sky, how can you hide in the water? Just when he was wondering, he suddenly heard the moon in the water speak: "Brother, please save me, I will repay you."
Erniu looked at the moon in the water and was surprised and said, "Are you calling me?"
The moon begged him and said, "Brother, please save me quickly. If it's too late, the big evil dog will eat me."
Erniu thought that he was a land duck and did not dare to go into the water, so he said awkwardly: "You are in the water, and I can't swim . How can I save you?"
The moon said: "This is not difficult. You just need to go to the big willow tree on the riverside and break a willow branch, stir it in the water for a few times, and I will jump into your arms."
Erniu followed the moon's words and came to the big willow tree. Fortunately, the branches of the big willow tree hung very low, and he could break them with his hands. He folded a willow stick and took it to the river. According to what the moon just said, he stirred it in the water a few times. Soon the moon grabbed the willow stick and jumped into his arms and told him: "Brother, you Hide me in your arms first. If you encounter a big black dog on the road, it will ask you about my whereabouts. Just tell it that it has never seen me. "
Er Niu nodded in agreement, hid the moon in his arms, and continued to drive the cattle towards home. When he was about to reach the entrance of the village, he suddenly saw a big black dog blocking the road and said viciously to him: "Young man, have you seen a moon?"
Erniu shook his head towards the big black dog and said, "The moon is in the sky, how could I see her?"
The big black dog said viciously to him again: "I am the dog god in the sky. The moon has violated the rules of the sky. The Jade Emperor wants to punish her by being eaten by me. Now she has escaped from heaven and is hiding in the human world. If you dare to hide her, , if I find out, I will eat you.”
Erniu was so frightened that he shivered and couldn't stand up straight. He almost knelt on the ground and lied: "Master Tengu, I didn't see the moon. If I see her in the future, I will definitely tell you."
Seeing his scared look, the Tengu thought that he really hadn't seen the moon, so he left with satisfaction. As a result, it didn't go far when it caught up with Er Niu again and said viciously: "Young man, you are lying to me. I have smelled the moon from you. She is hiding in your arms. Now I I want to swallow you and the moon together." As he said that, he was about to pounce on Erniu.
Er Niu was so frightened that he was trembling all over and couldn't run anymore. He said in his heart: "It's over. This time I will be eaten by the Tengu."
At this time, an old scalper next to him suddenly spoke in human language: "Master, don't be afraid of him, I will take care of him." With that, the old scalper came to the tengu and prepared to fight with it.
When the Tengu saw the old scalper, he seemed to be afraid of it, and said condescendingly to it: "Brother scalper, please spare me. I will never dare to bully your master and the moon again."
The old scalper said: "Because we were brothers in heaven, I will spare you once, but if you dare to bully my master and the moon again, I will not spare you."
The tengu waggled its tail at the old scalper a few times to agree, and then quickly ran away.
This old scalper was originally found by Erniu five years ago when he was picking up shells by the river. At that time, it was seriously injured and was dying. Erniu asked the village veterinarian to revive it. Since then, it has been inseparable. The earth followed Er Niu, but what Er Niu didn't expect now was that it was actually a sacred cow in the sky. Thinking of the situation when it was seriously injured and almost lost its life, he couldn't help but asked it in wonder: "Old friend, since you are a sacred cow , how could he be seriously injured back then?”
The old scalper sighed and said: "There was a turmoil in the heaven back then. In order to protect the Jade Emperor, I was seriously injured by those rebel gods and fell into the human world."
The moon also confirmed what Big Ox said, and soon they returned to Er Niu's home. The moon said in Er Niu's arms: "Brother, please put me on the ground. I am so bored in your arms." I’m not angry anymore.”
Erniu took the moon out of his arms and put it on the ground. Soon he saw the moon turned into a beautiful girl. Erniu was dumbfounded. He had never seen such a beautiful girl before and was afraid of the Jade Emperor's daughter. Not as beautiful as her.
The moon smiled at him and said, "Brother, what are you doing standing still? You saved my life, and I want to repay you."
The big scalper said at the side: "Since my master saved your life, let me be the matchmaker and let you marry him."
After hearing what the old scalper said, Yue Yue couldn't help but feel moved, and then her face turned red with embarrassment.That night, Erniu and the Moon used the Big Ox as matchmaker and got married.
From then on, every time the sun sets, the moon will return to the sky to illuminate the human world. After dawn, it will return to the human world and reunite with the two cows.
—Wonderful ghost stories are all in the ghost house: guiguaiwu.com—
This story leaves a lasting impression. It combines the mysterious elements of folklore with the warm emotions of human kindness. Er Niu, as a poor cowherd boy, bravely saved the chasing moon despite hardships and dangers, and finally got a beautiful girl and a happy marriage. The sacred cow Old Scalper in the story also showed admirable loyalty and strength. The whole story is full of drama and warmth, and people can't help but be moved by the love between Erniu and Moon.