WHY?

A wordless condemnation of violence and war—their often absurd origins and always grim aftermath. 

It all starts with a frog lazily enjoying the smell of a flower. A mouse happens along and snatches the flower. The frog, with two friends, retaliates by swiping the mouse's umbrella. Things escalate as additional frogs and mice enter the fray, the tools of battle grow more sophisticated, and full-blown warfare erupts. In the end, the terrain is wasted and everyone's the loser. Popov captures all the ugliness of war: the smoky gloom of armies on the march, the blank look of the soldier in battle, the scary machines of war. The last page of this artful cautionary tale gives further pause. There sits the frog with a shattered umbrella, the mouse with a wilted flower—their pathetic spoils. Still they do not acknowledge one another; more dazed than transformed, they look capable of taking up arms again at any moment. 

Provocative.