Chih-Nii
Whilst Chih-Nii and her friends were bathing in the river, a cowherd stole their clothes. Chih-Nii chased him but he had hidden the clothes.
Chih-Nii was unable to return to Heaven without her clothes and finally married the cowherd with whom she had two children. Finally however, Chih-Nii found her clothes and returned to her home in Heaven, despite her love for her husband.
The cowherd was so saddened by his wife's departure that he asked his ox (a spirit in disguise) to take him to Heaven to speak with the Jade Emperor.
The Emperor was touched by the tale but also knew that his daughter and the cowherd could not live together. He reached a compromise however and turned them both into stars on opposite banks of the Celestial River. She became the star Alpha in the Lyre, and he became the Beta-Gamma pait in Aquila.
It is said that, once a year, a group of magpies builds a bridge of sticks over the Celestial River so that the couple can be together.
Adapted from 'A guide to the Gods' by Richard Carlyon
