In one legend, the beast, Nian, had the power to swallow up all the people in a village in one big bite.
Village people were very scared of Nian. One day, an old man came to the villagers' rescue, offering to subdue Nian. The old man asked Nian, "I know you can swallow people, but can you swallow other beasts of prey instead of people who are by no means your worthy opponents?"
Nian accepted the old man's challenge and swallowed the beasts that had harassed the villagers and their farm animals for years. At the end of the legend, the oldmandisappeared riding off on Nian.
In this legend, the old man turned out to be an immortal god. In the end, Nian is gone and the other beasts of prey are scared into hiding in the forests. The villagers can once again enjoy their peaceful life.
传说中，“年”这个怪兽，有能力一口吞掉一个村庄的人。人们都很害怕“年”。
一天，一位老人帮村民们征服了“年”。他对“年”说：“我听说你很有能耐，但你能否把地球上其它的野兽都吃掉，而不是这些根本不是你对手的人类呢？”“年”接受了老人的挑战，若干年里吃掉了好多害人和捕食农场动物的野兽。
传说的结尾，老人骑着怪兽“年”消失了。原来传说中的这个老人是一位神仙。最后，怪兽“年”被赶走了，其他捕食的野兽也都吓得躲进了森林。村民们又过上了平静的日子。
The legend goes on to say before the old man left, he told the villagers to put red paper decorations on their windows and doors at each year's end in order to keep Nian away. It is believed Nian is afraid of the color red.
传说里讲，那位老人离开前告诉村民，每年年末都要在门窗上贴上装饰的红纸来吓唬“年”，还让年走的远远的。人们认为“年”最怕的颜色是红色。
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