七夕の話

A young cowherd named Hikoboshi, happens across seven fairy sisters bathing in a lake. Encouraged by his mischievous companion the ox, he steals their clothes and waits to see what will happen. The fairy sisters elect the youngest and most beautiful sister to retrieve their clothing. She does so, but since Hikoboshi sees her naked she must agree to his request for marriage. She proves to be a wonderful wife, and Hikoboshia good husband, and they are very happy together.

But the Goddess of Heaven (in some versions Orihime's mother) finds out that a mere mortal has married one of the fairy girls and is furious. (In another version, the Goddess forced the weaver fairy back to her former duty of weaving colorful clouds in the sky because she could not do her job while married to the mortal.) Taking out her hairpin, the Goddess scratches a wide river in the sky to separate the two lovers forever (thus forming the Milky Way, which separates Altair and Vega).

Orihime must sit forever on one side of the river, sadly weaving on her loom, while Hikoboshi watches her from afar and takes care of their two children.

But once a year all the magpies in the world take pity on them and fly up into heaven to form a bridge over the star Deneb in the Cygnus constellation so the lovers may be together for a single night, the seventh night of the seventh moon.