新編香港故事：獅子山與老虎岩 New Hong Kong Children’s Story : Lion Rock & Lo Fu Ngam
scroll down for English version
星期天，公公來探望卓然一家，還送了一盒兒童鬥獸棋給卓然作禮物。公公打開紅色「格仔」紙的棋盤，教卓然把一粒粒紅色和綠色的動物棋子擺好。卓然和公公下了一整天鬥獸棋，但是卓然總是忘記到底是獅子或是老虎比較利害，所以常常輸給公公。
晚上，是時候關燈睡覺了，但在床上的卓然還是睡不著，一直在思考到底是老虎或是獅更利害。突然，他聽到玩具箱傳來怪聲⋯⋯
「咔咔、咔咔」
坐在床上的卓然看著玩具箱有點害怕，但他還是鼓起勇氣，起床去打開玩具箱。
他看到有些細小的東西從箱裡蹦了出來！原來是鬥獸棋裏的獅子棋和老虎棋！獅子棋一直追著老虎棋，他們橫衝直撞把房間的東西撞得七零八落。
卓然：「哎吔！為甚麼會這樣的？這樣下去會把爸爸媽媽吵醒的，停啊！～～～ 」
卓然兩隻手各抓住一顆棋子，他們終於停下來了。
卓然看著棋子們問：「獅子啊獅子，為甚麼你要追著老虎啊？」
獅子：「吼～～～ 我要把老虎打敗，搶回十二生肖的位置！」
十二生肖？咦？十二生肖裡有獅子的嗎？
十二生肖與獅子
原來，在很久很久之前，天上神仙挑選十二隻動物代表年份，方便人們記錄自己的年歲。一開始時十二生肖中真的有獅子，而沒有老虎的。但由於獅子太兇猛，常常傷害其他動物和人類，所以掌管天上人間的神明 — 玉皇大帝，便決定要找另一種勇猛但正義的動物代替獅子。
玉皇大帝一邊伏在彩雲上往下看山林，一邊自言自語：
「嗯⋯⋯我一定要找到一種跟獅子一樣勇猛，但是正義而且樂於助人的動物。咦！那裡有一隻跑得很快，身上有黑色條紋的動物，讓我看清楚一點，哦！原來那是老虎，看看牠的記錄⋯牠很厲害喔！不單曾打敗了大熊、馬，還有一次打敗了獅子！東海龍王在這裏記錄了，老虎曾經幫助他對付龜怪，令大海回復平靜。老虎真的又強壯又正義，好吧！就決定由老虎代替獅子成為新的十二生肖吧！」
玉皇大帝馬上用彩雲接了老虎上天，被選中的老虎當然十分高興，但是獅子便非常生氣。獅子心裏想著：「我只是輸了一次而已！只要下一次我贏了，就可以把十二生肖的位置搶回來了！」。從此獅子便把老虎當成敵人，每一次與老虎碰面，都要挑戰牠。
格仔山對決
有一次，牠們在一座畫了紅色格仔的山上再次相遇，這次牠們日打夜打，大戰了八百回合，仍然不分高下。山下的人們聽到獅子和老虎打架的吼叫聲，都非常害怕，他們都不敢出門耕種，也沒有去餵雞和鴨。
山林裏的動物同樣嚇得躲起來，糟糕了！這樣下去，人和動物也快要餓死了！這個時候，同情人們和動物的土地公公在格仔山遁地出現，佢叫停了獅子老虎：
「呵呵～原來是獅子和老虎在較量。你們都十分勇猛而且身手了得，但是以我當神仙的多年經驗，當十二生肖並不能單憑強壯，也要有堅毅的意志，成為人們學習的對象。
不如這樣吧，我來當公証，你們來比試誰最堅毅，誰能留在山上抵得住風吹雨打、不怕日曬雨淋，堅持到最後的，便是最有資格成為十二生肖吧﹗」
獅子和老虎覺得土地公公的話非常有道理，便同意改為比堅毅了。首先，老虎二話不說，跳上洞口前的一塊大石，蹬直四腿抬頭向天，威風凜凜，動也不動。
獅子心想：「不行，我要找一座比這格仔山更高、更高的山，讓所有人類都看到我多堅毅！」
牠東看看、南看看、西看看、北看看⋯⋯ 在北面，牠發現有一座比格仔山高幾倍的大山。他馬上跑到大山的頂峰，學老虎一樣蹬直四條腿，拉長脖子、把頭抬得高高，還張開大口！
這時候，土地公公再次出現跟獅子說：
「哎呀，獅子啊、獅子啊，你現在很兇猛的姿勢，會讓玉皇大帝以為你還像以前一樣，愛傷害其他動物和凡人的，倒不如你換一個沉穩但又嚴肅的姿勢吧！」
獅子點點頭，急忙改為伏在地上，仍然看著天空，還有把嘴巴合上，保持嚴肅的表情。
這時候，土地公公馬上施展法力：「我變！」把獅子變成石頭了。
然後，土地公公急忙回到格仔山上，和老虎說：
「老虎，我把獅子變成石頭了！但我的法力有限，你要在獅子變回原狀之前，趕快跟我回到天上當十二生肖，繼續成為人們勇敢、正義和吉祥的象徵啊！」
老虎很感激土地公公的幫忙，但是他也很擔心如果獅子變回原狀後，看不到老虎站在格仔山上，會不會太生氣，再跑到山下傷害人們和動物的？！
就在老虎踏上彩雲回到天上之前，牠靈機一觸！
回頭向著格仔山的山洞大吼三聲！
「吼～～吼！吼！」
老虎的吼聲經過山洞的回音，傳遍整個九龍，人們都議論紛紛。
女村民：「你聽到嗎？那聲音真的很大！嚇壞我了」
男村民：「那吼聲大得把我的房子都震得搖來搖去！」
女村民：「山上一定是住了一隻很大、很兇猛的老虎！」
男村民：「對呀！我們要跟其他人說要小心一點，不要去那附近了。不然可能會給老虎吃掉的！」
女村民：「沒錯啊！不如我們以後把那座山附近稱作『老虎岩』吧！那大家便知道那兒有老虎。」
就這樣，老虎岩這個地名慢慢傳開，還傳到伏在山上的獅子那裡。
獅子聽到後，心想：老虎果然利害，過了這麼多天，還留在山上和我比堅毅，不行！我不能輸給他的，我要繼續留守在山上！讓所有人類也知道我才是最堅毅，最有資格當十二生肖的！
因此，獅子從此便沒有離開過高峰，而這座山便是香港最著名的山峰 — 獅子山了。
你們能認出獅子的頭、獅子拱起的背嗎？
從獅子山往南看，有一座比獅子山矮很多的小山，還塗上了紅白格仔的，這裏附近便是「老虎岩」了。當然老虎已經回到天庭當十二生肖，那裡已經沒有老虎了。後來人們也沒有再稱這地方作老虎岩，用了老虎二字的諧音「樂富」，來稱呼這個地方。
看到格仔山上的格仔讓我想起⋯⋯鬥獸棋！
人們為了紀念獅子和老虎曾經在格仔山上的比試，便發明了以紅色格仔紙當棋盤的動物鬥獸棋。
但為甚麼鬥獸棋上，會變成獅子比老虎利害呢？
傳說，老虎為了平息獅子怒氣，所以把自己利害的位置讓給獅子，但這個傳說是否真的呢？那可能要問問老虎了。
今天，卓然和公公又在下鬥獸棋了。
卓然：「獅子吃老虎！我把你的老虎吃掉了！」
爺：「哈哈，利害啊，昨天你還未記得是獅子還是老師利害些，為什麼今天又突然記住了？」
卓：「嘻嘻，這是秘密！我不告訴你！」
English version
On a Sunday, Grandpa visited the Chek-yin’s family and brought a box of animal chess for Chek-yin as a gift. Grandpa opened the chessboard with red checkered paper, teaching Chek-yin how to arrange the red and green animal pieces. Chek-yin and Grandpa played animal chess all day, but Chek-yin always forgot whether lions or tigers were more powerful, so he often lost to Grandpa.
At night, it was time to turn off the lights and go to sleep. However, Chek-yin couldn’t sleep in his bed; he kept thinking about whether tigers or lions were more powerful.
Suddenly, he heard strange sounds coming from the toy box… “Click, click, click.” Sitting on the bed, Chek-yin looked at the toy box with a bit of fear, but he mustered up the courage to get out of bed and open the toy box.
He saw some tiny things bouncing out of the box! It turned out to be the lion and tiger chess pieces from the animal chess! The lion chess piece was chasing the tiger chess piece, and they were bumping into things, making a mess of the room.
Chek-yin: “Oh no! Why is this happening? If it continues like this, it will wake up Mom and Dad. Stop!!!”
Chek-yin grabbed one chess piece in each hand, and finally, they stopped.
Chek-yin looked at the chess pieces and asked, “Lion, oh lion, why are you chasing the tiger?”
Lion: “Roar~ I want to defeat the tiger and reclaim the position of the Chinese zodiac!”
Chinese zodiac? Huh? Is there a lion in the Chinese zodiac?
It turns out that a very long time ago, celestial beings in the sky selected twelve animals to represent the years, making it easier for people to keep track of their age. Initially, there was indeed a lion in the Chinese zodiac, and there was no tiger. However, because the lion was too fierce and often harmed other animals and humans, the god who governs the heavens and earth — Jade Emperor — decided to find another brave but just animal to replace the lion.
As Jade Emperor lay on a colorful cloud looking down at the mountains and forests, he muttered to himself: “Hmm… I must find an animal that is as brave as the lion but is also just and helpful. Oh! There’s an animal running very fast with black stripes. Let me take a closer look. Oh! It’s a tiger. Look at its records… it’s impressive! Not only has it defeated a bear and a horse, but it even defeated a lion once! East Sea Dragon King recorded that the tiger helped him deal with a troublesome turtle monster, restoring calm to the sea. The tiger is indeed strong and just. Alright! Let’s have the tiger replace the lion as the new Chinese zodiac!” Jade Emperor immediately used the colorful cloud to bring the tiger up to the sky. The selected tiger was, of course, very happy, but the lion was very angry. The lion thought, “I only lost once! As long as I win next time, I can reclaim the position in the Chinese zodiac!” From then on, the lion considered the tiger as an enemy and challenged it every time they crossed paths.
One day, they encountered each other again on a mountain with red checkered patterns. This time, they battled day and night, engaging in a fierce fight for eight hundred rounds, yet neither could gain the upper hand. People at the foot of the mountain heard the roars of the lion and tiger, and they were very scared. They dared not go out to farm and didn’t even feed the chickens and ducks.
The animals in the forest were equally frightened and hid away. Oh no! If this continues, both humans and animals will soon starve! At this critical moment, the sympathetic Land God, who cares for both people and animals, appeared from the ground on the checkered mountain. He stopped the lion and tiger:
“Hehe~ So it turns out the lion and tiger are having a contest. Both of you are very brave and skilled, but from my many years as a god, I’ve learned that being part of the Chinese zodiac requires more than just strength; you also need a determined will to become an example for people to learn from.
How about this? I’ll be the judge. You will compete to see who is the most determined, who can endure the wind, rain, sun, and withstand everything the longest. The one who persists until the end will be the most qualified to become part of the Chinese zodiac!”
The lion and tiger found the Land God’s words reasonable and agreed to change the competition to one of determination. First, without saying a word, the tiger leaped onto a large rock in front of the hole, straightened its four legs, raised its head to the sky, majestic and unwavering, not moving at all.
The lion thought, “No, I must find a mountain higher than this checkered mountain, a much higher one, so that all humans can see how determined I am!”
The lion looked to the east, then to the south, west, and north… In the north, it found a mountain several times higher than the checkered mountain. It immediately ran to the top of the big mountain, mimicking the tiger by straightening its four legs, stretching its neck high, and opening its mouth wide!
At that moment, the Land God appeared again and said to the lion: “Oh dear, lion, oh lion, your fierce posture now might make Jade Emperor think you’re still the same as before, fond of hurting other animals and humans. How about changing to a more composed yet serious pose?”
The lion nodded and quickly changed to lie on the ground, still gazing at the sky. It closed its mouth, maintaining a serious expression.
At that moment, the Land God immediately used his magical powers, saying, “I transform!” and turned the lion into a stone.
Then, the Land God hurried back to the checkered mountain and spoke to the tiger: “Tiger, I turned the lion into a stone! But my magical powers are limited. You need to come back to the heavens with me before the lion returns to its original state. Continue being a part of the Chinese zodiac, symbolizing bravery, justice, and good fortune for people!”
The tiger was grateful for the Land God’s help, but it was also worried. What if the lion, once back to its original form, became angry and came down the mountain to harm people and animals again?
Just as the tiger stepped onto the colorful cloud to return to the heavens, it had a sudden inspiration!
The tiger turned around and roared three times toward the mountain cave of the checkered mountain: “Roar~ Roar! Roar!”
The echoes of the tiger’s roar reverberated through the entire Kowloon, sparking discussions among the people.
Female Villager: “Did you hear that? The sound was so loud! It scared me!” Male Villager: “That roar shook my house! It was so powerful!” Female Villager: “There must be a huge and fierce tiger living on the mountain!” Male Villager: “Exactly! We should warn others to be careful and stay away from there. Otherwise, they might get eaten by the tiger!” Female Villager: “Right! Let’s call the area around that mountain ‘Tiger Rock’ from now on! That way, everyone will know there’s a tiger there.”
And so, the name “Tiger Rock” slowly spread, even reaching the lion lying on the mountain.
Upon hearing this, the lion thought, “The tiger is indeed formidable. After all these days, it’s still up there on the mountain, challenging my determination. No way! I can’t lose to it. I must continue to stay on the mountain! Let all humans know that I am the most determined and deserving to be part of the Chinese zodiac!”
Therefore, the lion never left the peak, and this mountain became the most famous peak in Hong Kong — Lion Rock.
Can you recognize the lion’s head and the arched back from Lion Rock?
Looking south from Lion Rock, there is a smaller hill with red and white checkered patterns, and this is “Tiger Rock.” Of course, the tiger has returned to the heavenly realm as part of the Chinese zodiac, so there are no more tigers there. People no longer call this place Tiger Rock; instead, they use the homophonic term “Lok Fu” to refer to the area.
Seeing the checkered patterns on Lion Rock reminds me of… Animal Chess!
In commemoration of the lion and tiger’s past competition on Lion Rock, people invented Animal Chess with a chessboard made of red checkered paper.
But why is it that on Animal Chess, the lion is more powerful than the tiger?
Legend has it that the tiger, to appease the lion’s anger, willingly gave up its powerful position to the lion. But is this legend true? Well, that might be a question for the tiger.
Today, Chek-yin and Grandpa are playing Animal Chess again.
Chek-yin: “Lion eats tiger! I captured your tiger!” Grandpa: “Haha, impressive! Yesterday, you couldn’t remember whether the lion or tiger was more powerful. Why do you suddenly remember today?”
Chek-yin: “Hehe, that’s a secret! I’m not telling you!”
支持故事燕子創作更多廣東話故事，請多多按掌聲（Clap）和留言分享你的看法吧！Support Story Swallow in creating more Cantonese stories. Please give plenty of claps and leave comments to share your thoughts!
