The Caterpillar

One day there was a caterpillar.  And the caterpillar was walking around looking for some food.  It finally found a tree with juicy leaves.  The leaves were so delicious that she couldn't stop eating, and didn't bother looking for other food elsewhere.  Until one day she started wrapping herself in a chrysalis and attached herself on her favourite tree for the rest of her caterpillar life.  Protected from the outside world, blind to any new possibilities.

And then one day, she knew she was growing into something else.  Something that didn't fit in the chrysalis any longer.    She felt her wings grow, but there was no where for her wings to go.  She grew tired of the pressure her new body felt in the tightly wrapped and safe space. 

So she decided to start scratching at the walls of her chrysalis. And as she saw more of the world outside, she grew more and more excited about what could be, and less and less tolerant with the chrysalis she wrapped herself in.  It made her scratch at the walls even more, but she felt her feet start hurting so she stopped.  

For a very long time she would sit in her chrysalis, peeping to the outside through a small hole, smelling the flowers and then start scratching at the walls again, hurridly and frantically.  The hole in the crysalis grew wider still and she could see more and more and smell the different scent. 

She would stretched out her legs, longing for it to reach the nearest flower just so she could have a taste.  But to no avail.  

Until one day, she could feel her wings getting stronger, her legs more able to break the web holding her. She kept on scratching and scratching, until suddenly, she was finally free!

She flapped her wings and to her surprise she was flying for the first time ever.  What a glorious feeling to see the world from outside of the chrysalis.  So much richer and fuller and freer than she could ever imagine.

And then she got scared.  She saw a beautiful flower and landed on it:her first landing!  She rested her wings, she let the flower wrap around her and she drank from its nectar.  It was the sweetest nectar, and a glorious feeling.  It was tempting to stay there and linger, but the world was calling and she was off, flapping her wings again and flying off into the sunset. Into the big, adventurous, exiting unknown.