A young cowherd called Hikoboshi meets seven fairy sisters bathing in a lake along the way.
The youngest of them, the fairy weaver Orihime, met Hikoboshi's gaze and fell in love with him. They married and lived happily ever after with their children. But the Goddess of Heaven discovered that a mortal cowherd had married one of the young fairies, and became furious. She descended to Earth to find Orihime and bring her back to the celestial kingdom. Hikoboshi followed them up to heaven, but just as he reached Orihime, the goddess created an impassable river in the sky to separate the two lovers forever in their own worlds, creating the Milky Way between the stars Altair and Vega.
Orihime had to stay forever on her side of the river, weeping every day, working sadly at her loom, and Hikoboshi watched her from afar, taking care of their two children.
The Goddess of Heaven took pity and allowed the two lovers to see each other on the seventh night of the seventh month of each year. This is the night of Tanabata.
