The Chinese (and other Asian peoples) have many traditional legends about the Moon. Other Moon stories can be found at The Stories of the Chinese Mid Autumn Festival here, and at The Legend of the Moon Festival by Thomas W. Chinn, Historian here.
Rabbit and Frog on the Moon is told by Etho-No-Tec, founded by Artistic Co-Directors Nancy Wang and Robert Kikuchi-Yngojo. Nancy and Robert are San Francisco artists trained in traditional and contemporary art forms who have been performing for over three decades. Eth-Noh-Tec presents cultural workshops and storytelling programs as well as original plays. And if you don't think they take their jobs seriously, just look at those moves!
You've probably heard of the Man in the Moon. But have you heard of the Rabbit in the Moon? This rabbit has a very special friend with him on the Moon. Who? It is a Chinese queen from long ago. Her name is Ch'ang-O. And this is her story.
Once upon a time, there was a cruel emperor who wanted to live forever. "Conquer all lands, seize all potions, find the herbs that will give me life eternal." But his compassionate queen, Ch'ang-O, warned, "Be wise. No man was meant to live forever." "Wise? Where is my wisdom when I'm dead?"
And so the emperor's army searched the land with military force. Countless lives were lost. "Husband, what does your heart say? When will this murdering stop?" "But I must have immortality!"
One night, the goddess, Quan Yin, visited the weeping Ch'ang-O. "Perhaps I can help stop the killing with this." And she handed a small bottle to the queen. "This is the elixir of immortality. The magic potion the emperor is seeking." Ch'ang-O returned to show the emperor, but instead of thanking her, he shouted, "Give it to me now!" Upon hearing his heartless command, Ch'ang-O replied, "No! No tyrant like you must ever live forever." She quickly swallowed the elixir and leapt to her death out the window.
But instead of falling, her body rose up into the sky. Instead of dying, she was given life immortal. But as she rose up, she changed into a three-legged frog. This was meant for the emperor, but Ch'ang-O could not have known. Ch'ang-O sailed into the heavens landing safely on the Moon, where she was welcomed by her new friend, the rabbit on the moon.
She sits by his side as a three-legged frog on a silvery, bright and shining log. But on Earth each night of his very mortal days, the emperor cursed that queen on the Moon.
For Ch'ang-O, though a frog with legs of three, kept safe that secret of immortality.