there is a legend
of a girl and a river
the river flowed and flowed, carrying everything within its waters
the girl, seeing the river, would watch the waters, seeing every change and how it splits and merges
there was a soft clay upon the banks of the river, soft and malleable when wet, but strong and sturdy when dried
being entranced by the waters, she would make a bowl, to hold the water
and in her generosity, she would bring the water to the land
the land flourished with the waters provided, and plants grew wild and free from the water
and animals soon arrived to the flourishing riverbank
the girl would create better vessels to tend the land, to grow plants, to feed the animals, and soon she formed other stuff with the clay
tools, bowls, ceremonial masks, decorations
until one day she looked into one of the vessels she filled with water
the swirls were captivating, enchanting with the colours that refused to settle
she set the clay vessel down on the riverside, and would watch it for days on end
she soon gave the vessel a name to call it by, and thought to herself constantly what sort of personality the contained water had
but the water was a mysterious, was it active? was it calm? she had no way to compare with just the one vessel and the river
so the girl made even more vessels
and filled each one with swirling water
until the riverbank was filled with clay vessels
each vessel was different
the girl could now tell which how the water in each vessel was different from every other vessel
some were active, some were vibrant, some were subtle, some were erratic, all were captivating and unique
the plants saw the water swirls, and were captivated by the way it changed and shifted, and saw that the girl was doing this all on her own, and volunteered to watch, fill and record the changes of the vessels
the tools and other clay creations soon saw the plants helping, and their creator busy with all the tasks, so they began to help with the clay forming, and assisting by dilligently making more vessels, tools and creating beautiful pieces
soon, vessels filled the banks of the river, each filled with its own water
but the river was running low, drained with from the many vessels holding its water
the animals, seeing the state of the river, did not like it, they broke the vessels apart by tooth and nail, smashing them, breaking them apart and pulverizing the shards
the water returned to the river, and the animals were proud with themselves
the girl, seeing this, was at first distraught by the destruction, but, looking over the riverbank, soon saw all the endless vessels on the bank, and how low the river had gotten along the bank
looking to the animals, she expressed graditude towards them, and asked if they would continue to protect the flow of the river
the animals agreed, and were then tasked to make sure the water returned to the river, and that too much was never drawn at any time
so the girl lived in harmony and unity with the others by the river, with the help of the guiding plants, the protector animals, and the living clay artisans