Story: Cancer (June 21-July 22)

Cancer is a northern constellation¹ between Gemini and Leo that outlines a crab². Cancer is the fourth sign of the zodiac, which the sun enters on or about June 22.

A long time ago, when Hercules fought the monster Hydra³, a huge crab bit Hercules’ feet but was finally defeated. The crab fell onto an island in the Aegean Sea. Because the crab did not finish the task given by Hera, the Queen of Athens was affected⁴ by the curse. As a result, when the princess of Athens Meriot was born, a prophet foretold⁵ that the day the princess got married was the day the Queen would die. Therefore, the Queen made sure the princess did not marry.

When Meriot was 20 years old, a prince named Sa came to Athens. He admired Meriot’s beauty and wanted to marry her. And when Meriot saw Sa, she fell into love at first sight.

But the curse was still valid⁶ and she could not pursue her own happiness by sacrificing her mother’s life. Meriot tried her best to control her emotions by arranging nine impossible missions for him to complete. Only by finishing these tasks could he marry her. However, Sa managed to complete them eventually, putting the princess in a great dilemma⁷. Eventually her mother agreed to their marriage for the happiness of her daughter.

On their nuptial⁸ day, the Queen did not go to the ceremony, as she did not want anything terrible to happen. The Queen went to the beach and jumped into the Aegean Sea. When the Queen drowned, a huge crab appeared in the sea and embraced her as if a shell of protection.

When Hera found out about her mother’s death, she was full of regret and transformed the crab into a constellation in the sky called Cancer.

星座起源的美丽传说：巨蟹的故事

在很久很久以前，赫五力大战蛇妖许的时候，从海中升出一只巨蟹为帮助蛇妖咬了赫五力的脚踝，后来这只巨蟹被赫五力打死，落在了爱琴海的一座小岛上。巨蟹没有完成女神赫拉的任务，因而被诅咒，这诅咒便波及到了雅典王后的身上。在雅典公主美洛出生的时候，就有一位预言家预言，公主结婚的时候就是王后死亡的时候。为着这个预言，王后一直没有叫公主嫁人。

直到美洛二十岁的时候，雅典城来了一位王子，名叫所飒。所飒是慕名而来，他一心想娶美洛为妻，而美洛在第一眼见到所飒时也深深的爱上了他。然而诅咒是可怕的，公主也不希望只为了自己的幸福去牺牲母亲的生命。于是她想尽办法阻止所飒也阻止自己的欲望。他定下了九关，就如同九个不可能完成的任务一样，除非所飒一一做到，他才可以迎娶美洛。然而，英勇无比的所飒竟一一做到了！公主陷入了两难的境地。伟大的母亲为了女儿的幸福，毅然决定把美洛嫁给所飒。

在美洛和所飒举行婚礼的这一天，王后并没有到场，她不希望宴会上出现什么意外来破坏气氛。王后一个人悄悄走向海边，迎接着爱琴海的浪涛，蹈水自尽了。当人们怎么也找不到王后时，在海上发现了一只巨大的蟹，它的双臂环绕在胸前，仿佛缺乏安全感，又像是一位善于保护的母亲。

女神赫拉知道这件事情以后也有些后悔，于是让那温柔而敏感的母亲在天上成为一个星座，它的形象就是一只巨蟹。