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One day, a scorpion looked around at the mountain where he lived and decided that he wanted a change. So he set out on a journey through the forests and hills. He climbed over rocks and under vines and kept going until he reached a river.

 The river was wide and swift, and the scorpion stopped to reconsider the situation. He couldn't see any way across. So he ran upriver and then checked downriver, all the while thinking that he might have to turn back.

 Suddenly, he saw a frog sitting in the rushes by the bank of the stream on the other side of the river. He decided to ask the frog for help getting across the stream.

 "Hellooo Mr. Frog!" called the scorpion across the water, "Would you be so kind as to give me a ride on your back across the river?"

 "Well now, Mr. Scorpion! How do I know that if I try to help you, you wont try to kill me?" asked the frog hesitantly.

 "Because," the scorpion replied, "If I try to kill you, then I would die too, for you see I cannot swim!"

 Now this seemed to make sense to the frog. But he asked. "What about when I get close to the bank? You could still try to kill me and get back to the shore!"

 "This is true," agreed the scorpion, "But then I wouldn't be able to get to the other side of the river!"

 "Alright then...how do I know you wont just wait till we get to the other side and THEN kill me?" said the frog.

 "Ahh...," crooned the scorpion, "Because you see, once you've taken me to the other side of this river, I will be so grateful for your help, that it would hardly be fair to reward you with death, now would it?!"

 So the frog agreed to take the scorpion across the river. He swam over to the bank and settled himself near the mud to pick up his passenger. The scorpion crawled onto the frog's back, his sharp claws prickling into the frog's soft hide, and the frog slid into the river. The muddy water swirled around them, but the frog stayed near the surface so the scorpion would not drown. He kicked strongly through the first half of the stream, his flippers paddling wildly against the current.

 Halfway across the river, the frog suddenly felt a sharp sting in his back and, out of the corner of his eye, saw the scorpion remove his stinger from the frog's back. A deadening numbness began to creep into his limbs.

 "You fool!" croaked the frog, "Now we shall both die! Why on earth did you do that?"

The scorpion shrugged, and did a little jig on the drownings frog's back.

"I could not help myself. It is my nature."

Then they both sank into the muddy waters of the swiftly flowing river

 (Although this Aesop’s’ fable has been used to explain many things related to Politics, Terrorism, etc. what makes this fable one of my favs ever is the fact that shows 1/ Than One must be oneself and accept his/her uniqueness, virtues and defects, it is called self-acceptance. 2/ Moreover, it shows in a simple way that if you are true to yourself everybody can see that, and if your are not, too… except if everybody wants to be blind. 3/ Facts are more important than words. Our acts will show what we are, no matter what we say… sometimes they go together  and that’s great.)

Shaun Tan is a Western Australian virtuous versatile illustrator, drawer, and painter. He's also a writer. He has a unique, fantastic & weird world full of unique cretures, poetic symbols and thoughtful stories.

What makes him brilliant is not only his techniche or the quality of his images, but the fact that he's able to use them to tell stories that go beyond the descriptive - the process of colonization of Europeans in Australia, immigration experiences, environmental issues, social issues, etc. And he does so in a charming entertaining unique way. Shaun Tan's depth of vision and artistic talent are quite rare and must be praised because when you've seen one of his books, you don't forget it.

His last book "The Arrival " is a story on immigration, and it is really amazing. It has won the "WA Premier's Prize and Children's book Award" for this year - a prize that somewhat belittles his talent, because this book isn't for children, quite the opposite. None of his books are.

The fact that some of them have no words is thrilling to me, like the first two images in The Red Tree and the whole The Arrival. They don't have any written story and invite the viewer to write it in his/her mind. This is very much my cup of tea. We are part of a society that literally lives on "visuality", and, despite so, most people are unable to see what they have in front of their eyes. They need the words to tell them the story. Images are swallowed as pills without a further thought. Art is consumed as instant coffee. So Shaun Tan is an oustanding exception to what we generally see in the world of illustration. He is not only visually great but also conceptually great, and double great - great the concepts that serve to create his books, and the concepts that each image transmits. That's thrilling to me.

His books can be expensive (at least in Australia), so if you have a good bookstore nearby, just peruse them on your feet for free. But it is worth the the money, if you have it. His books can be found at least in Australia, Spain, UK and France.

Otherwise, have a look to his website, which contains some of his images, notes and other info about editor houses in different countries, etc. It is great:
http://www.shauntan.net/
Some other info in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaun_Tan