In a sunny meadow, where beautiful flowers danced in the gentle breeze and butterflies fluttered like living rainbows, lived a silly little caterpillar named Cathy. Spring had arrived, and she was munching on a bunch of fresh green leaves, delighting in their crisp taste.
Cathy was a friendly caterpillar and loved to sit with her friends, the other little creatures of the meadow. She spent her days nibbling, playing games, and admiring the beauty surrounding her. Oh, how she would gaze at the butterflies as they danced and twirled in the sky, their colorful wings sparkling like jewels in the sunlight!
As Cathy sat nibbling away at her favorite leaves one sunny morning, a wise old ladybug approached her. “Good morning, Cathy!” said the ladybug cheerfully. “You have grown quite a bit! I must tell you that soon, you will feel very sleepy and want to sleep in a warm, cozy place for a while. After your long sleep, you will wake up to find yourself as a beautiful butterfly!”
Cathy immediately halted her munching. “But I don’t want to be a butterfly!” she declared. “I will be much too different, and who will recognize me?”
“Why, everyone will know you!” answered the ladybug with a smile. “Aren’t you eager to fly high in the sky and visit all the lovely flowers and plants that you see down here? You will get to see the meadow from above! Oh, it will be such fun! Why, even now, you can practice a little by stretching out your sides.”
“Oh, no! That is too much change,” protested Cathy. “I do not want to be a butterfly, and I never will!”
“But you must!” said the ladybug. “It is in your nature. You will wake one day and be surprised to see what you have become!”
At this, Cathy puffed herself up, flounced her sides, and walked away in a huff. She just couldn’t understand how the wise ladybug could think she would enjoy such a big change.
But perhaps the little caterpillar was too silly to know any better. After a while, she felt so very sleepy that she could not keep her eyes open. So at last, she spun herself up in a warm, cozy place and fell fast asleep.
Weeks passed by and the meadow grew very quiet. Tiny drops of rain fell softly two or three times a day, and the sun would come out and dry everything as bright and fresh as a daisy. Still Cathy slept and slept.
“I wonder what has become of that silly little caterpillar who said she didn’t want to be a butterfly,” said the ladybug one day. “I will take a trip as far as I can fly, and see if I can find her.”
So off flew the ladybug, stopping every now and then to rest, and to speak a few kind words to the busy little bees and the merry breezes.
At last she came to a place that was very familiar to her—a warm, fuzzy ball like a yellow-green lump hanging to a little twig. So she flew close to it, and there she found her friend, Cathy, the caterpillar. But what had become of the silly little creature? What had taken place during those weeks of sleeping?
Cathy was gone! In her place was a lovely butterfly, with beautiful wings of blue and gold, asleep in a curling flower.
At first, each little flower in the meadow blushed with pleasure at the sight of Cathy’s fairy-like beauty, but soon they inquired of each other:
“But did you ever know Cathy, the caterpillar?” Was she always as lovely as she is now?”
And the answer was always, “Why, yes! That is Cathy, whom we are so glad to see; and surely we all knew what Cathy was sure to become!”
So let us all rejoice with the flowers, even though the transformation might have surprised them; for the creation surely does know best what each and everything should be. And let us also mind the wise little ladybug, who never failed to say, “Embrace change, it can lead to beautiful things.”