The Three Monks
Once upon a time, there was a mountain where stood a temple. And a young monk lived in the temple.
Every morning the little monk went alone to the well below the mountain and carried water by himself.
In the evening, the young monk sat in front of the Buddha and chanted the Buddhist scriptures. He lived a calm and free life.
One day, a tall, thin monk came to the temple.While he drank up all the water and did not have even a drop left, the little monk was quite unhappy. The little monk was quite unhappy.The little monk said,"You have finished up all the water, so you should go to get water below the mountain. "
The thin monk thought that he would suffer losses if he carried water alone.So he said with a smile,"I am not strong enough to lift a pail of water.So could you go with me together?"The young monk had to agree with him reluctantly.
The two men hung the bucket in the middle of the pole,lifted it and walked up to the mountain. Neither of them intended to do more. This went on for a while and everything was all right.
Later, another monk came to the temple. He was short and stout. He found the wter tank empty and wanted the other two to collect water.
The two monks got unhappy and neither of them was willing to do it.
The fat monk had to go down to the mountain and took two buckets of water by himself. And he drank it up without a stop. But the other two had nothing to drink.
The three monks quarrelled with each other in the temple,and everyone refused to get water.
Therefore, the water tank was empty every day. They were so thirsty that they fell to the ground with-out any strength left.And the temple was gradually deserted.
One night, several mice in the temple came out to steal grain,and they knocked everything on the table upside down.
A mouse acidentally knocked over the candlestick. So the candle burnt the clothon the table,and the temple was on fire at once.
On fire! Put out the fire quickly!" The little monk shouted loudly.And the three monks ran fast to the water tank in order to put out the fire.But there was no water at all. They were totally stunned and had absolutely no idea. They lowered their heads in shame.
The fire was getting bigger and bigger.If it went on like this, the whole temple would be burnt out soon.
Fortunately, they woke up just in time. They ran down the hill with the basins and buckets, bringing back water again and again.
Nobody knew how many times they had got water, and they managed to put out te big fire at last. At that time,all of them were so tired that they threw themselves to te ground. But they felt incredibly relaxed.
From then on, they decided to get water one by one everyday. So the three monks no longer quarrelled at all and they led a happy and free life together.