Three monks, no water

the long version

This story illustrates a familiar Chinese proverb, "Three Monks, No Water," wryly noting how individuals shirk group responsibilities. One monk living alone in his mountain temple never misses his daily trip down to the nearest stream to fill two buckets with water. When a second monk joins him, they share the task, with diminished efficiency. After the arrival of a third monk, the responsibility for water fetching belongs to no one, and the temple suffers a drought--until a disaster frightens the monks into creative negotiation. The carefully composed illustrations, acrylic and colored pencil on a textured golden ground, use a few common objects to re-create the unfamiliar setting, a Buddhist monastery. The proverb, rendered in ancient style Chinese calligraphy, is part of the background on every spread.