Chinese Folktale
When night is clear, you can see shadows on the moon. According to an old Chinese folktale, they are the shadows of the cinnamon tree in the moon. This tree came to be because of the laziness of an immortal, Wu Kang.
Wu Kang was in charge of guarding the dragon. However, he was lazy. He drank wine, and he often allowed he dragon to run away. One day, he went to Mount K’un Lun. He was there. While he was there, he met some of his friends. They began to drink, compose poems, and throw dice. He continued to drink, even after night came. He drank some more until he became completely tipsy. When he saw some fellows playing chess, and he asked to join them. They advised him to go home because they knew he was being negligent, but Wu Kang offered to wager the dragon’s pearl. After they played a few moves of the game, Wu Kang lost the pearl. He had wagered and lost the dragon pearl. Immediately, he wagered and lost the mighty dragon. The Immortals learned of the loss. They were furious. They immediately sowed a pearl in the ground and a tall cinnamon tree grew from it. When the tree reached a great height, they gave Wu Kang an axe and told him to cut off the branches. As soon as he had cut off all the branches, bigger ones sprouted and grew. Wu Kang had to cut them off too. Wu Kang is still there to this day cutting off branches. Whenever, you see shadows on the moon, you will know thay they are branches of cinnamon tree falling down.
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