One sunny day Rushi went out into the garden at the back of her house. It was a garden full of different kinds of flowers. The sun was warm and the flowers nodded in the gentle breeze. There were butterflies everywhere. Pit a pat, pit a pat went Rushi’s feet and hmm, hmm, hmm she hummed. But wait. Rushi heard something. “It sounds as if someone is sobbing,” said Rushi to herself. “Who can that be?” She started to search and saw a tiny little butterfly sitting on a large yellow sunflower and sobbing. Rushi was concerned and ran up to the little butterfly. ”Whatever is the matter, little butterfly?” she asked. The butterfly looked up in wonder. “You actually saw me?“, she asked excitedly. “Why, of course”, said Rushi, smiling. “But why are you crying?” The butterfly sighed, “I am so small,” she said sadly, “My wings have no bright colours and no one even looks at me. I wish I was like the others.” She started to cry again. “But you are special because you are different” said Rushi. “How boring it would be if everyone looked the same.” But the little butterfly did not think so. “No, no, no,” she kept saying, between sobs. Rushi felt sorry for the butterfly. As she walked back to the house she wished she could do something to help. But what could she do? I am just a little five-year-old girl, she said to herself.
It was then that an idea struck her. I will tell my best friends, Atreyu, Nadira and even little Diya, about the butterfly, thought Rushi. “I am sure we can together think of some way to help.” The next day Rush told her friends about the little butterfly. The four of them sat down to think, under the big Oak tree in the garden. Soon Atreyu, the oldest, had a bright idea. “Do you think we can ask the fairies to give big, beautiful wings to the little butterfly?“ he asked the other two. “Yes, yes,“ agreed Nadira, the three-years-old. That made the others smile at her enthusiasm. “Yes, yes,“ echoed Diya, all of two years, jumping up and down. So, after school, they all went straight to Rushi’s house and into the garden. The sun was just setting and there were shadows under the big trees. Soon they saw little twinkling lights under the bushes. “It is the fairies!“ shouted both Rushi and Nadira excitedly. “Shush,” said Atreyu in a whisper. “We must go carefully, so that they do not fly away.” The friends slowly crept up to a tall row of lilies. They saw three elves sitting on the grass, under a large bright pink lily. The elves wore little shirts and pants made of red, blue and yellow flower petals and had curly hair and beards. They were laughing and seemed to be having fun. Rushi, Nadira and Atreyu crouched behind a clump of tall plants, just behind the lilies. Diya tightly held on to Nadira’s hand. But one of the elves, the one dressed in red, saw the four faces peering at them. “Why. Hello,“ said the little red elf in surprise, not at all afraid. The blue and the yellow elves turned and smiled in a friendly way at the children. Then they nodded their heads and waggled their beards. This made the children smile. Then Rushi, who was a polite little girl, said, “We are so sorry to disturb you. We thought we would frighten you away and that is why we crept up on you like this.“ “We just wanted your help,” said Nadira, laughing now that she knew the elves were so friendly. “Yes,“ said Diya, “please help us.” The elves laughed merrily. “Afraid of you?” queried the red elf, who seemed to be the leader. ”You are just children, although to us you too seem like giants.” Then the elves climbed up the lily stalk and onto the large soft petals. ”Now,“ said the red elf, “tell us why you want our help.“ So the three friends told the elves the story of the little butterfly, who was sad because she was so small and did not have large brightly coloured wings. Hahn, homm, hmm said the elves, as they talked in their elfish language to one another. They shook and scratched their heads, nodded at each other and waggled their beards. The red elf finally said, “We will give the little butterfly what she wants.” ‘Thank you, thank you,“ cried the friends together. “But,” said the red elf, shaking a finger at the children, “she will have to decide whether she wants to keep the wings we give her, by tomorrow night.“ “If she does not she will be very, very sorry,“ said the blue elf. “We will do it only because you want to help. Good children always help others – even butterflies - whenever possible,” said the yellow elf.
Do you know what happened next?
Early the next morning, even before going to school, the three friends went running to Rushi’s garden. They had a wonderful surprise awaiting them. They saw a very beautiful, large butterfly, whose wings had all the colours of the rainbow. She was gorgeous. “Is that you, little butterfly?” asked Rushi hesitantly, for she did not recognize the little butterfly that she had seen sobbing. “Yes, yes,” sang the little butterfly, “I am so excited and happy. Thank you for helping me.” She swirled this way and that, showing off her new wings. The friends were happy for her too, but they told her what the elves had said. “So, so silly,“ sang the little butterfly. “Why would I change back to something insignificant? I will just sit here and let all the others come and see me. Am I not the most beautiful now?” The children realised that the little butterfly had changed. Now she seemed vain and boastful. That night, when the children were fast asleep in bed, it started to rain. Soon, everything in the garden was soaked. However, all the butterflies flew away and were safe and dry…all, except the little butterfly. When she tried to fly she found that she just could not carry the weight of her new beautiful wings. Every time she tried to fly, she fell down. So she crawled under a tall yellow sunflower plant…but still got wet and cold. She began to feel very sorry for herself. The next morning, when Rushi woke up, she ran into the garden…but could not find the butterfly. “Oh, I do hope nothing has happened to it,“ thought Rushi worriedly. Just then her friends came running; they had been worried too. They began to search for the butterfly. Suddenly Nadira shouted out. She had found the butterfly under the sunflower, all soaked and sad. The poor butterfly was so soggy that it could hardly move and lay quite still. Its beautiful wings were all muddy. It looked sad and bedraggled. “Poor, poor butterfly,” said Rushi, picking it up. “I am so sorry you got so wet.“ She cradled it tenderly in her warm hands. Soon the butterfly was better, and looked up gratefully at Rushi and her friends. “Thank you all so much”, she said softly, “but I don’t want these heavy wings anymore. They are not for me and were no use when I had to escape the rain. Oh, how I wish I could get my small pale wings back again.” “But you can, little butterfly,“ said Rushi. “Remember what the elves said? There is time. All you have to do is wish yourself back as you were.” “Oh, I do, I do,“ cried the little butterfly. “I wish I could become what I was before”. The friends watched in astonishment as the bright rainbow colours on the wings slowly disappeared. Then the wings started to become smaller, till the butterfly was once again a small white butterfly.
I was so silly,” said the little butterfly, as she flew in circles above the friends. “I should have always been happy with my small white wings. They work better for me.“ You have taught us something little butterfly,“ said Atreyu; “we should all try to make the best of what we have, rather then wish for what our neighbour’s have.“ “And more important than how you look, is what you are,” said Rushi. The elves were delighted that everything had ended so happily, and danced merrily away.
Pramila Balasundaram
The writer is Founder-Director of Samadhan
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