Hoffen

S1 E1: The newborn child is given the name Hoffen and appears a bit naughtier than his peers. Hoffen also has a couple feisty neighbors: two wily weasels named Long-Mouth and Big-Eye. One night, Hoffen sets a trap for the two intrusive neighbors, but unfortunately, the trap causes one of the fishing boats to set on fire. The villagers come to extinguish the fire and start to blame Hoffen. Hoffen’s father comes and apologizes for his child’s recklessness. The village is forced to sacrifice a child annually to the monster Nian, who would destroy the village if his demand is not satisfied. As it is Hoffen’s parents’ turn to do the sacrifice, they hurry to the Kitchen God’s temple to seek help in avoiding it. Kitchen Gold tells them to get away from the village. They flee but find that the neighboring village has been demolished by Nian. A survivor they come across tells them this is all because Hoffen was not sacrificed to the beast.