One day, the weaving maid was cooking, when the Cowherd hasted to return from the field, telling her with his eyes in tears, “Brother Cow is dead. Before his death, it said its hide should be peeled off and put aside. Another day, the one who is wrapped in it will fly up to heaven.”
Hearing this news, the Weaving Maid feel puzzled. She knew that the old cow was in fact Taurus. He had himself been demoted just because he had spoken up for Qianniu. Why did he die so suddenly? The Weaving Maid let the Cowherd peel off the hide and they buried the cow with great ceremony.
Then, a strong wind blew and the heavenly soldiers and officers descended and escorted Weaving Maid up into the sky without offering any explanation.
While flying, Weaving Maid heard the Cowherd shouting, “Weaving Maid, wait for me.” Turning her head, she saw the Cowherd wrapped in the cowhide and carrying their son and daughter in wicker baskets. Slowly, the gap between them closed and the Weaving Maid could see the lovely appearance of her son and daughter. The children opened their arms and cried “Mama!”
The Cowherd and the Weaving Maid were almost within touching distance when the Xiwangmu herself appeared above the clouds. She pulled a gold hairpin out of her hair and drove it between them. Suddenly, they were divided by the Milky Way.
Looking helplessly at the cowherd and their children, the Weaving Maid cried out until her voice became hoarse and she had not an ounce of strength left. Her cries and those of her children were loaded with grief and tears. Even the fairies and the immortals were full of tender emotion. Seeing this, the Xiwangmu herself was also moved by the genuine love between the cowherd and the Weaving Maid. She agreed that the Cowherd and their children could stay in heaven and meet with the Weaving Maid on the 7th day of the 7th lunar month.
From then on, the Cowherd lived in heaven and looked at the Weaving Maid across the Milky Way. At night in autumn, among the numerous stars, we can see that there are two bigger stars glittering at either end of the Milky Way, and these are Vega and Altair. On either side of Altair there are also two smaller stars, which are the son and daughter of the Cowherd and the Weaving Maid.
On the 7th of the 7th lunar month, when the Cowherd and Weaving Maid are due to meet, numerous magpies fly up to make a bridge for them. On this bridge of magpies, the Cowherd and the Weaving Maid have their a reunion. They look at each other and embrace their son and daughter, having many words to say and much affection to tell. Legend has it that if people quietly listen under the grape vine on the 7th day of the 7th lunar month, they will hear the Cowherd and the Weaving Maid talking with immortal music in the background. It is unbearable to meet as well as to depart. They look forward to their reunion on the 7th day of the 7th lunar month each year.
Many writers and poets of the past dynasties wrote poems to eulogize this love story. Of these the most popular is the “Fairy of The Magpie Bridge” by Qin Guan, a poet of the Song Dynasty (960-1279):
Dainty clouds she dexterously weaves; her grief of separation the shooting stars transmit; and in secrecy, across the Milky Way the river vast, they reunite.
Admidst golden winds and silvery frost, their yearly rendezvous proves more aff ectionate than many a worldly trysting night.
With feelings as tender as water and after a reunion as fleeting as a dream, they can hardly turn and embark on their homeward journey.
After all, when love is genuine and perpetual, it really matters not if a couple are always in each other’s sight.
Later, on the 7th day of the 7th lunar month when the Cowherd and the Weaving Maid met, girls would come by the flowers under the moonlight, look up at the sky, and try to spot Vega and Altair on either side of the Milky Way. They hope to see the annual reunion, while at the same time praying that they be quick-witted and nimble-fingered, and have a good marriage. This is the Double Seventh Festival, the most romantic of China’s traditional festivals, as well as one that young girls pay special attention to.
