Butterfly

BUTTERFLY

A beautiful, vibrant butterfly fluttering about. Teasing all who watch her. She flutters by and catches his eye. “I must catch that butterfly.”

He hurries to the house. He runs to fetch his net. His mother yells, “slow down!”

“I’m off to catch a butterfly. I have no time to waste.” He runs out of the house and down the street trying to catch this butterfly. To his dismay he sees other boys chasing the same butterfly. They chase her and swat at her. They swing their nets to capture her. This butterfly cannot be caught. She teases and flutters and lands and flies. She enjoys the attention. She is happy to play. She can make those boys run. She can make those boys jump. She can make them scream with delight. They come so close to catching her then she flies off into the sky.

Time goes by and the boys give up. “We’ll never catch that butterfly” cried one. The boys went home. All but one. The butterfly took a rest. Perched upon a blade of grass she sighs, “Aaah, rest at last!”

Suddenly from the sky fell a net landing on the butterfly. “I gotcha” yelled the boy. “You’re my own butterfly now. All mine.” He put her in a box with holes poked in the top. He threw in some bugs. He threw in some grass. He would take good care of this butterfly.

He brought the butterfly to school for Show and Tell. When he opened the box something was wrong. The butterfly looked sick. She wasn’t moving. She wasn’t fluttering. The boy feared she would die.

“Butterflies are not meant to be kept in a box,” explained the teacher. “She has no room to flutter about. She has no room to fly. There is no one for her to play with while she’s cooped up in that box. Set her free. Watch her fly. That is how to care for the butterfly.”

The boy took her to the playground. Carefully placed her on the grass. The butterfly was still at first. Suddenly she opened her wings and flew high up into the sky. The butterfly was happy. She was fluttering about. Teasing all who watched her. She flew to the boy. Perched on his shoulder. “Thank you for setting me free” she whispered. “I will be yours forever.”


Word count: 395