A Butterfly’s Breath: A Fairy Fable Snippet

The teeny tiny butterfly flitted and floated on the gentle breeze that came off the mountain. A summer storm had just blown through, and the butterfly had sheltered beneath a tree branch, wings tucked, waiting.

The cool air lifted the butterfly high into the treetops, floating it amongst the waving leaves. Only a day old, the butterfly had broken from its cocoon just as the storm brewed in the foothills and forest.

Its bright blue wings caught the eye of a hungry bird—her nest of babies chirped hungrily after the storm's rage. The mama bird took flight, following the butterfly closely, but she could not catch it.

Up and up and up the butterfly went, until it reached the very tippy tops of the trees.

Flashes of silver and green from the trembling leaves distracted the bird. After a few minutes of chase, she gave up and flew back to the lower canopy of the forest, looking for something easier to catch. Perhaps a juicy worm, pushed up by the rain, would do.

Feeling free again, the butterfly floated downward to the forest floor. There it found a bright purple flower, perfect for a meal.

It rested its tiny wings, and as they opened and closed in rhythm, a passing fairy, who had been checking on his plants, paused to make sure it was all right. He could tell from the rapid fluttering that the butterfly was still in distress.

But the butterfly and the fairy did not need spoken words—they spoke in their own secret language of thought and flutter.

The butterfly relayed what had happened with the bird, and the fairy, in reply, sent an image into the butterfly’s mind: a sunlit meadow filled with blossoms and other butterflies, a place where it could rest and be safe.

The butterfly ate its fill, then followed the little green fairy into the meadow. When it arrived, it saw hundreds of butterflies resting on flowers and tree branches, their wings creating a mosaic of living color.

Grateful and calm, it sent a flutter of thanks toward the fairy. The two went on their separate ways.

And above it all, the sun kept shining.