Among the countless stars twinkling in the sky, there is a group of seven bright stars called the Big Dipper. This charming tale tells us how seven devoted brothers helped their widowed mother and became the Big Dipper.

Once upon a time in a small village, there lived a woman with seven sons. As she lost her husband early, she had to raise her seven children alone. The mother took great care of her children and the sons were also very devoted to their widowed mother. The family was not very well-off, but all the family members loved each other and lived happily.

One night, the eldest son woke up in the middle of the night and found that his mother wasn’t in the room. He couldn’t sleep because he was worried about her too much. It was not until daybreak that the mother came back home. The son was relieved to see her again and he didn’t say anything.

The next night, while the children were asleep, the mother got out of bed silently and went outside. Again, she returned home at dawn. And the following night, the mother repeated this ritual. The eldest son didn’t sleep a wink for three nights in a row, worrying about his mother. But each time she left, she returned home, so the son didn’t have to worry that she might leave the children for good. But he wondered where she went every night. He decided to follow her.

On a freezing winter night, the mother sneaked out of the house in the middle of the night. As if the son was waiting for this to happen, he carefully trailed after her. The mother braved the bitter cold to continue walking. A little way on, the mother came to a stream. The water was freezing cold, but to his surprise, the mother never hesitated to walk into the water to cross the stream. Finally, she arrived at a little cottage, where an old lady was waiting for her. Inside the cottage, the two women had a friendly chat all night.

The son was heartbroken. Now he realized how lonely his widowed mother had been. She had been comforting loneliness by chatting away with the old lady during the night. The son noticed that the stream had no bridge. He didn’t want his mother to walk through the cold water. He hurried home and woke up his brothers. He told them about their mother and suggested that they lay stepping stones on the stream. The brothers all agreed and ran toward the stream. In an instant, they put seven stepping stones in the stream so their mother could cross the water on them.

Around daybreak, the mother was returning home. She was very surprised to see the stepping stones on the stream. She thought to herself, ‘Who in the world did such a kind thing?’ She then prayed to God that those people who laid those stepping stones would become stars in the sky after they die. Of course, she never really knew that the kind people were none other than her own children.

Time passed, and the seven devoted sons all passed away. Exactly the way their mother prayed, they became stars in the sky. They are the seven stars of the Big Dipper, which look like stepping stones shining brightly in the night sky.