Tale Of Transformation: The Butterfly That Believed Itself To Be A Caterpillar

This transformation tale features a butterfly who believe they are still a caterpillar. This story tells us about change and non-acceptance of oneself.

Sometimes we have more power than we want to see and we waste our energy trying to resist change, with an eye to the past.

A long time ago, a small caterpillar was born that dragged itself with difficulty from one place to another. Until one day, tired of dragging himself, he decided to climb a tree. But not just any tree, he chose to climb a tree with a large trunk and leaves down, under which he had played, grown and lived for so many years.

The caterpillar tried to climb, but it slipped, fell and could not proceed. Despite this, he did not stop trying and slowly, little by little he managed to climb. He reached a branch from which he could see the whole valley. The views were wonderful, from there he could see other animals, he could contemplate the blue sky with white clouds that looked like cotton and in the horizon an immense sea with an intense blue color. On that branch the caterpillar felt peace.

He stood still, observing the world around him, and felt that life was too good not to follow the changes it brings. He was tired and at the same time grateful for his life as a caterpillar, but he knew it was time to turn into another being.

A tale of transformation: from caterpillar to butterfly

The caterpillar fell asleep while perceiving a feeling of great peace in the surrounding environment and thinking that its fate held more than just being a caterpillar. He slept for a long time, during which a chrysalis formed around him,  an envelope thanks to which he was able to maintain that feeling of peace that he needed to transform into another being.

When he woke up, he felt trapped inside a heavy armor that did not allow him to move. He felt that something strange had grown on his back, with great effort he moved his huge blue wings and the armor broke. The caterpillar was no longer a caterpillar, it was a blue butterfly. However, it had been a caterpillar for so long that it didn’t realize it was no longer a caterpillar.

The blue butterfly came down from the tree using its small paws, despite the fact that it now had wings. He carried with him the weight of those great blue wings, a weight that slowly consumed his energy. The blue butterfly moved using its paws as it always did, believed it was still a caterpillar and continued to live as if it were. But its wings didn’t let it move across the floor as easily as it did before.

The weight of the wings

The butterfly who kept believing it was a caterpillar did not understand why its life had become so complicated. Tired of bearing the weight of her wings, she decided to return to the place where the transformation had taken place. This time when she tried to climb the tree it was impossible for her to climb.

A gust of wind or any other small unforeseen caused her to retreat. The butterfly stood still and  looked up at that branch that seemed so far away as it began to cry, desperate. After hearing that cry, a beautiful and wise white butterfly approached her. He landed on a flower and for a while he looked at the blue butterfly without saying anything. When she finished crying, the white butterfly said to her:

-What’s the matter?

-I can’t climb that branch, even if I was able to do it before.

-Even if you can’t climb up to that branch… maybe you can fly up to it.

The blue butterfly  looked oddly at the white butterfly and later observed itself and its large, heavy wings. As when he came out of his shell, he moved them hard and opened them. They were big and beautiful, of such an intense blue that she was frightened and closed them quickly.

-If you don’t use your wings, you ruin your paws- Said the white butterfly- taking flight while opening its wise wings and moving away with elegance.

Take flight

The blue butterfly marveled at every movement of the white butterfly and reflected on his words. In that instant she  began to understand that she was no longer a caterpillar, that perhaps those heavy wings could be useful to her.

He opened them again and this time he left them open, closed his eyes and felt how the wind caressed them. She felt that those wings were now part of her and accepted that she was no longer a caterpillar and that, therefore, she could no longer live as one, crawling.

He opened his wings more and more until he realized that it was more a butterfly than a caterpillar, he observed the wonderful blue of its wings. When he realized the truth, he was flying, he slowly climbed up to that branch. Flying had proved much easier than crawling, although he still had to perfect his flight. She discovered that the fear of flying had not allowed her to accept what she really was: a caterpillar transformed into a beautiful blue butterfly.

This transformation tale is the story of a butterfly who thought he was still a caterpillar. It is the story of a beautiful blue butterfly, with large, strong and resistant wings able to go against the tide,  to fly in the middle of storms and to face the most powerful wind. The blue butterfly possessed large, beautiful, bright blue wings. A blue that encompasses a wide range of shades: from the color of the clearest sky to that of the most agitated sea. However, she didn’t know.

The teachings of the transformation tale of the blue butterfly

The transition from caterpillar to butterfly is one of the most used metaphors to talk about resilience. Butterflies are a symbol of transformation, a symbol of fragility that strength. For this reason, the butterfly is usually used as the protagonist for a transformation tale.

This transformational tale reminds us that we live in a dynamic world, in a world in constant evolution and that we are part of this changing world,  and that we are part of that evolution. However, sometimes, despite having already transformed and having the strength to evolve, we are unable to accept this change for various reasons such as: fear, shame, guilt …

In this case, a beautiful and strong blue butterfly cannot accept that it is no longer a caterpillar, and therefore cannot live as if it were. One part of her wants to change, but the other is afraid of change and tries to hold on to the past and continue living the same way, despite being another being. It will take her a long time to accept and find out why she will need her wings and what her life will be like from then on. To do that, he’ll need some help. In this sense, we must think that others usually see our strengths more clearly than ourselves.