Why Caterpillars Become Butterflies
Far in the distant past, when Earth was still young, humans were but children playing freely about the untamed lands and caterpillars did not grow into butterflies, there sat a caterpillar, small and lovely with a mocha coloring and cream and ink swirls sweeping along his long, segmented back, munching on a leaf. Morning smiled on the land, turning the surrounding wild vegetation a simmering shade of peridot and setting the massive lake before him afire with flaming arrows of new sunlight. The tiny caterpillar watched the awe from a low branch covered in rough, gray bark hanging over the water as the wind wrinkled the blazing surface of the lake and, being such a little caterpillar, he thought himself to be watching the sun rise over the restless waves of the sea. Pensive, he asked himself, "Am I as beautiful as the sun upon the sea?" He wondered this for a moment and then allowed the thought to drift to the back of his mind as he enjoyed his breakfast.
The thought rose again with the sun the next day. Eagerly, he scampered to his mother's side as quickly as his teeny legs could carry him and asked, "Mommy, am I as beautiful as the sun upon the sea?"
With a secretive smile his mother replied, "If you believe yourself to be as beautiful as the sun upon the sea, then you must be," and continued to chew on her delicious leaf, saying nothing more. Disappointed and dissatisfied with her answer as all young caterpillars are with inconclusive answers, the little caterpillar set out on a quest to find out if he was truly as beautiful as the sun upon the sea.
After crawling for what seemed like a hundred miles, the caterpillar noticed a black bear, as tall as the tallest tree in the land, lumbering through the tangles of weeds and wild flowers. Gathering his courage and summoning all his strength, the caterpillar wriggled up the tallest blade of grass he could find and shouted in his loudest shout, "Black bear!" Surprised, the black bear looked around at the empty field, puzzled when he could not find the animal responsible for the shout. Finally he spied the little caterpillar hanging precariously on the strip of grass and scooped the caterpillar into his mammoth paw. Out of breath from fear and effort (for he did not like exercise and spent his days mostly dreaming and eating), the caterpillar croaked, "Black bear, can you tell me, am I as beautiful as the sun upon the sea?"
Being vain and feeling dislike toward the caterpillar for asking such a ridiculous question, the black bear let out a roaring laugh and let the caterpillar drop to the ground as he walked away. "You are not beautiful; you are nothing compared to me."
A bit taken aback by the bear's rudeness, the caterpillar stared at the black bear's retreating tail, sniffing back tears. Then, after a minute, the caterpillar jumped up determinedly and continued on.
It seemed to be yet another hundred miles before the caterpillar happened upon a puma sunning herself under a cloudless sky. Excited, the caterpillar raced faster than any caterpillar had ever raced, to the puma's face and yelled, "Puma, can you tell me, am I as beautiful as the sun upon the sea?"
A large, glassy eye appeared behind heavy lids and focused on the caterpillar. A sigh rippled through the puma and she stated before closing her eye once more, "You are not beautiful; you are nothing compared to me."
Hardened by his encounter with the black bear, the caterpillar allowed only one grumble about mammals and rudeness to escape his down- turned mouth before he left the puma's side with a sigh.
It wasn't long at all before the caterpillar met a kestrel scavenging for food. The caterpillar admired the bird's rust-colored feathers and adored her attractive charcoal bands. Whispering, "The kestrel should be able to tell me if I am really beautiful," the caterpillar marched over to the bird, his back straightened out to show off his own markings. Pushing aside any unease (what could such a small bird do to him anyway?), he called, "Kestrel, can you tell me, am I as beautiful as the sun upon the sea?"
Swinging his shrewd, hungry black eyes over to the caterpillar, the kestrel smiled to himself and sneered, "You are not beautiful; you are nothing compared to me. So you will not be missed if I eat you!" The kestrel swooped down to lock the little caterpillar in his strong beak. But before he could be eaten, the caterpillar jumped into a hole and scuttled as far from the opening as he could. Curling up, the caterpillar blinked his enormous eyes and drooped his extra-wide, brown antennas. Wishing he were safely back at home where everyone was polite and nobody tried to eat him, the caterpillar fell asleep.
The sun had just faded below the pink horizon when the caterpillar awoke to an odd keening/gagging sound coming from outside the hole. Forgetting his earlier vow for caution, the curious caterpillar left the safety of the hole. His gaze fell immediately on a little girl with fat blonde curls rubbing her eyes as salty bits of liquid stars slid from her chin. Distressed and more than a little understanding, the slithered onto her arm and asked, "Why are you crying?"
With a loud honking sniffle, the girl admitted, "All the creatures I have met have told me I am ugly."
Shocked, for the caterpillar thought the girl was precious and beautiful, he looked up into her glistening eyes and saw the very same glitter and fire in her soul that had brought the fiery glory to the lake. The little girl saw a matching sight in the caterpillar. Both smiled.
"You are as beautiful as the sun upon the sea," said the little girl to the caterpillar.
Swelling with joy, the caterpillar replied, "You are too."
After wrapping the girl's words around him, the caterpillar later emerged from his chrysalis with wings of cerulean silk and flecks of shimmering gold. Riding on the breeze, he flew high into the sky for all to see that he was indeed as beautiful as the sun upon the sea.
Far in the distant past, when Earth was still young, humans were but children playing freely about the untamed lands and caterpillars did not grow into butterflies, there sat a caterpillar, small and lovely with a mocha coloring and cream and ink swirls sweeping along his long, segmented back, munching on a leaf. Morning smiled on the land, turning the surrounding wild vegetation a simmering shade of peridot and setting the massive lake before him afire with flaming arrows of new sunlight. The tiny caterpillar watched the awe from a low branch covered in rough, gray bark hanging over the water as the wind wrinkled the blazing surface of the lake and, being such a little caterpillar, he thought himself to be watching the sun rise over the restless waves of the sea. Pensive, he asked himself, "Am I as beautiful as the sun upon the sea?" He wondered this for a moment and then allowed the thought to drift to the back of his mind as he enjoyed his breakfast.
The thought rose again with the sun the next day. Eagerly, he scampered to his mother's side as quickly as his teeny legs could carry him and asked, "Mommy, am I as beautiful as the sun upon the sea?"
With a secretive smile his mother replied, "If you believe yourself to be as beautiful as the sun upon the sea, then you must be," and continued to chew on her delicious leaf, saying nothing more. Disappointed and dissatisfied with her answer as all young caterpillars are with inconclusive answers, the little caterpillar set out on a quest to find out if he was truly as beautiful as the sun upon the sea.
After crawling for what seemed like a hundred miles, the caterpillar noticed a black bear, as tall as the tallest tree in the land, lumbering through the tangles of weeds and wild flowers. Gathering his courage and summoning all his strength, the caterpillar wriggled up the tallest blade of grass he could find and shouted in his loudest shout, "Black bear!" Surprised, the black bear looked around at the empty field, puzzled when he could not find the animal responsible for the shout. Finally he spied the little caterpillar hanging precariously on the strip of grass and scooped the caterpillar into his mammoth paw. Out of breath from fear and effort (for he did not like exercise and spent his days mostly dreaming and eating), the caterpillar croaked, "Black bear, can you tell me, am I as beautiful as the sun upon the sea?"
Being vain and feeling dislike toward the caterpillar for asking such a ridiculous question, the black bear let out a roaring laugh and let the caterpillar drop to the ground as he walked away. "You are not beautiful; you are nothing compared to me."
A bit taken aback by the bear's rudeness, the caterpillar stared at the black bear's retreating tail, sniffing back tears. Then, after a minute, the caterpillar jumped up determinedly and continued on.
It seemed to be yet another hundred miles before the caterpillar happened upon a puma sunning herself under a cloudless sky. Excited, the caterpillar raced faster than any caterpillar had ever raced, to the puma's face and yelled, "Puma, can you tell me, am I as beautiful as the sun upon the sea?"
A large, glassy eye appeared behind heavy lids and focused on the caterpillar. A sigh rippled through the puma and she stated before closing her eye once more, "You are not beautiful; you are nothing compared to me."
Hardened by his encounter with the black bear, the caterpillar allowed only one grumble about mammals and rudeness to escape his down- turned mouth before he left the puma's side with a sigh.
It wasn't long at all before the caterpillar met a kestrel scavenging for food. The caterpillar admired the bird's rust-colored feathers and adored her attractive charcoal bands. Whispering, "The kestrel should be able to tell me if I am really beautiful," the caterpillar marched over to the bird, his back straightened out to show off his own markings. Pushing aside any unease (what could such a small bird do to him anyway?), he called, "Kestrel, can you tell me, am I as beautiful as the sun upon the sea?"
Swinging his shrewd, hungry black eyes over to the caterpillar, the kestrel smiled to himself and sneered, "You are not beautiful; you are nothing compared to me. So you will not be missed if I eat you!" The kestrel swooped down to lock the little caterpillar in his strong beak. But before he could be eaten, the caterpillar jumped into a hole and scuttled as far from the opening as he could. Curling up, the caterpillar blinked his enormous eyes and drooped his extra-wide, brown antennas. Wishing he were safely back at home where everyone was polite and nobody tried to eat him, the caterpillar fell asleep.
The sun had just faded below the pink horizon when the caterpillar awoke to an odd keening/gagging sound coming from outside the hole. Forgetting his earlier vow for caution, the curious caterpillar left the safety of the hole. His gaze fell immediately on a little girl with fat blonde curls rubbing her eyes as salty bits of liquid stars slid from her chin. Distressed and more than a little understanding, the slithered onto her arm and asked, "Why are you crying?"
With a loud honking sniffle, the girl admitted, "All the creatures I have met have told me I am ugly."
Shocked, for the caterpillar thought the girl was precious and beautiful, he looked up into her glistening eyes and saw the very same glitter and fire in her soul that had brought the fiery glory to the lake. The little girl saw a matching sight in the caterpillar. Both smiled.
"You are as beautiful as the sun upon the sea," said the little girl to the caterpillar.
Swelling with joy, the caterpillar replied, "You are too."
After wrapping the girl's words around him, the caterpillar later emerged from his chrysalis with wings of cerulean silk and flecks of shimmering gold. Riding on the breeze, he flew high into the sky for all to see that he was indeed as beautiful as the sun upon the sea.