The Caterpillar and the Butterfly

We cannot change the past, any more than we can see the future. But the here and now is a gift, that's why it is called the present.

The caterpillar crawled across the leaf, looking for a fresh patch to munch. It had been a long day.

 The Wise Owl had settled on his favourite perch and the caterpillar made his way over to him. He let out a long sigh.

'What's the matter, young caterpillar?' asked the Wise Owl.

'I'm bored,' said the caterpillar. 'Every day is the same. Wake up, munch a leaf, go to bed.'

'And that is not enough for you?' asked the Wise Owl.'

'No!' said the caterpillar. I want to... I want to...'

'Yes?'

'I want to...fly!'

'Fly?'

'Yes! Like the birds. Look at them! Look how free they are, how happy they must be. They get to go anywhere, do anything. I can't even get off of this stupid tree.'

The owl looked closely at the caterpillar. 'It will not always be this way, young caterpillar. Things will change with time. You must be patient.'

'I don't want to be patient,' said the young caterpillar, sulkily. 'I want things to change right now.'

The owl smiled knowingly. 'As you wish. Good day to you young caterpillar.' And with that, the Wise Owl fluttered away.

That night, the young caterpillar went to sleep dreaming of the skies. He dreamt that he was flying, swooping amongst the leaves.

When he woke up, something felt different. He opened his eyes but he couldn't see.

He seemed to be stuck in a strange casing. Panicking now, he tried to twist his head,using his teeth to bite through. It started to give, he was able to pull himself out, bit by bit, inch by inch until finally he was free, he could feel the breeze on his...

'I have wings?' he said. 'Where did these come from? Look at them. They're beautiful'

He waved a wing around, taking in the beautiful array of colours as they glinted in the sun.'

'I'm a butterfly. I can fly!'

Barely able to contain himself, he sprinted towards the edge of the leaf, ready to launch himself off the edge, to spring into flight, to soar into the sky, and...

He stopped, almost toppling over the edge. He peered over. On the leaf below, he could see a family of caterpillars, munching their way slowly across the leaf. 

The Wise Owl came swooping out of the sky and sat on his favourite perch. 

'Why young caterpillar, is that you? All grown up, just like you wanted?'

'Y-yes Wise Owl. It's me.'

'Look at your beautiful wings. You will be able to fly.'

'I guess,' said the butterfly, dejectedly.'

'What's wrong?' asked the Wise Owl. 'Is this not what you wanted? To fly? To be free?'

'Yes, but...' started the Butterfly. 'It's just that...'

'Yes?'

'I'm scared,' said the Butterfly.

'Scared?' asked the Wise Owl.

'Yes. I don't know how to fly. I'm scared that I won't be able to do it and I'll just fall flat on my face.'

'I see,' said the Owl.

The butterfly turned away. 'I don't want to be a butterfly,'

'You don't?' asked the Owl.

'No! I want to be a caterpillar again. I don't want to fly, I just want my nice safe leaf. I want things to go back to how they were before.'

'Young butterfly, everybody falls. That is how we learn. The secret is to get back up again.'

The butterfly looked over the edge of the leaf, then back towards the owl. 'You really think I can do it?' he asked.

The owl smiled. 'I know you can. but you must believe in yourself.'

And so the little butterfly took one last look then leapt off the edge of the leaf...

Before falling flat on his face on the leaf below. The owl fluttered down to him.

'Did you see that, did you see?' asked the butterfly excitedly. I was flying, I was really flying!'

But before the owl could answer, the butterfly was off again and leaped off of the leaf. But his time he didn't fall. He flapped his wings and soared, high into the sky,swooping between the trees.

The owl smiled. 'Yes young butterfly. You really can fly.'

Reviews

[Samuel Dickens]

Outstanding! First a lesson on patience, then faith and perseverance--all things the wee ones can benefit greatly from. (And many adults, too)

[Dirkgently1066]

Thank you for reading, really appreciate your kind comments. Funnily enough this was actually written as a metaphor for mindfulness, exploring my redundancy from work and struggle to adapt to a new environment. I hid it under the guise of a children's story to simplify the theme I was trying to explore.