How the ribbon dance was invented

You may have seen the famous chinese ribbon dance and even have heard that it started  over a 1000 years ago when the Emperor Tang had a dream of a moon palace and dancing fairies in flowing silk gowns with long ribbons.
But, if truth be known, that is only part of what really happened.
The truth is that a giant dragon of pink and blue once attacked the palace of Emperor Tang and every soldier that Tang sent out to fight it was eaten up; his archers, even though they covered the dragon with more arrows than there are spikes upon a hedgehog, were eaten up along with their bows and arrows; his cavalry men were eaten up while still upon their horses and his charioteers were eaten along with their chariots.
And before very long he had not one guard to defend him and his imperial family from the ravenous dragon, infact all he had left in his court were women and so he had an idea.
"Sir Dragon", he said, standing upon the battlements of his palace, "Since you have eaten perhaps you would like some entertainment while you rest and digest your food. If I send out some dancers to perform for you would you promise not to eat them as you have eaten my soldiers".
The dragon was tired and even had a little indigestion and so was happy to have a little distraction and so he agreed not to eat the dancers.
Then the gates of the Emperors palace opened and out came hundreds of dancers, all carrying long, flowing colourful silk ribbons and they started dance and whirl, making the ribbons dance aswell.
And the dragon, even though he was something of a brute, thought that the ribbon dance was very beautiful, infact its beauty made him rather drowsy.
But then as the Emperor had planned, while the dancers danced around the dragon, they tangled their long ribbons around his arms and legs and even his long tail so that, before long, the Dragon was so tangled up in ribbon that he couldn't move.
Ofcourse he struggled and pulled with all his might but then the Emperor gave the order for all his dancers to pull together on their ribbons and there were so many that even the mighty dragon couldn't break free of them.
Then fortunately, because dragons take a long time to digest their food, a month infact, when the dragon was cut open, all of the Emperors armies were still alive and came marching and riding from the dragons belly two by two.
But ever since that day women have performed the ribbon dance in honour of the dragons defeat by the Emperor and it is still as beautiful today as it was all those centuries ago.