“It’s time for you to change,” Mother Butterfly told Caterpillar.
“But I don’t want to change. I want to stay as I am,” Caterpillar said.
“You can’t stay as you are,” Butterfly replied.
“Why not?”
“It is the nature of things to transform,” Butterfly told Caterpillar.
“Even if I don’t want to?” Caterpillar asked.
“Even if you don’t want to.”
“What if I don’t want to become a butterfly?” Caterpillar asked.
“All caterpillars become butterflies,” Mother Butterfly said. “It is the way of things.”
“What if I’m happy as I am?”
“Even so. You will change,” Butterfly said.
“But I am content,” Caterpillar told her.
“Especially, then.”
“Why don’t you want to transform?” Butterfly asked.
“I am happy on my leaf,” Caterpillar said.
“As a butterfly, you’ll have wings,” Butterfly explained. “You’ll be able to see the branch, the tree, and the meadow.”
“I am happy on my leaf. It nourishes me. It keeps me dry. It hides me from those who would hurt me.”
“The meadow is beautiful,” Butterfly said to Caterpillar.
“So is the leaf.”
“How do I become a butterfly?” Caterpillar asked.
“You spin a cocoon and enter it. When you come out, you’ll be a beautiful butterfly,” Mother Butterfly said.
“But how do I become a butterfly? What happens in the cocoon?” Caterpillar asked.
“All of your flesh dissolves from your body. Your bones reform themselves in new positions. Your many legs fall off, and wings push out from your spine as your skin regrows,” said Mother Butterfly.
“Is it painful?” asked Caterpillar.
“Very.”
“Why have you not transformed?” Caterpillar asked Mother Butterfly.
“I have transformed,” Butterfly said. “I am a butterfly.”
“But what comes after being a butterfly?”
“Nothing comes after being a butterfly,” Butterfly said.
“But you said it’s the nature of things to transform,” Caterpillar said. “Why don’t you become more than a butterfly?”
“Because no one ever has.”
“If I were to change, I don’t know what I’d become,” Butterfly said to Caterpillar.
“What have you learned being a butterfly?” Caterpillar asked.
“I’ve learned how warm the sun feels on my wings… How sweet the nectar from the flower tastes… How loving the girl is when I land in her hair,” Butterfly said.
“And what do you still have to learn?” Caterpillar asked.
“I do not know what else I have to learn,” Butterfly admitted.
“That is why you must change.”
“How do I change into more-than-a-butterfly?” Mother Butterfly asked. “I am too old for cocoons.”
“You are too old for cocoons,” Caterpillar agreed.
“So how do I change?”
“Fill your heart with love,” Caterpillar said.
“And then I will change?” Butterfly asked.
“And then you will transform.”
“I can go past the meadow,” More-Than-The-Butterfly said. “I have seen the ocean, the moon, and the stars.”
“You have done what no other butterfly has done. You have transformed,” Caterpillar said.
“But why are you still on your leaf? Don’t you want to see the ocean, the moon, and the stars?”
“I am happy on my leaf. The morning dew is my ocean, and at night I see the moon and the stars within it,” Caterpillar said.
“But don’t you want to be with me?” More-Than-The-Butterfly asked.
“More than anything in the world.”
“Then fill up your heart with love and transform,” More-Than-The-Butterfly said.
“I already have,” Caterpillar said. “I already have.”