The Sparrow and the Butterfly
"My time has come," said the sparrow to the butterfly as it took to the winds lifted by the strength of its wings.Languishing behind, the butterfly rested on a flower to ponder the true meaning of what the sparrow had said.
While perched there atop the flower a caterpillar happened by.
Seeing the butterfly silently mulling over its thoughts the small creature became curious and asked the butterfly what it was doing.Startled by the sudden sound and frightened by the sudden interruption, the butterfly quickly took to the air frightened. As all of it's kind had always done since the beginning of butterfly time.
As the shock started to wear off the butterfly once again started to think upon the words of the sparrow. Caught in a warm updraft the butterfly soared ever higher. The ground below began to expand until a great beautiful vista stretched out below it. But the butterfly was lost deeply in its own thoughts and did not see.
Eventually, as the air-cooled and the butterfly had reached the heights it began to slowly drift earthward. Alighting on the branch of a great old pine tree, the butterfly warmed itself in the sunlight the way butterflies do. Its wings were slowly opening and closing exposing them to the warmth of the bright sunlight. It did this instinctively, still lost in deep thoughts, trying to understand the subtle nuances of the sparrows meaning.
The butterfly, as it sat upon this great pine tree, high up in the air above the ground, began to distractedly look around its new vantage point.
Below it a few feet was a squirrels nest, a mother squirrel had just had her babies and was nursing them. In an adjacent tree, another butterfly was sunning its self but suddenly flew off as a female butterfly flew past.
These things were seen but not seen. The butterfly was still almost in a trance, so deep in thought it was.
As night approached, and the time for this butterfly's life came close to it's end, as luck would happen the sparrow landed near where the butterfly was feebly resting...still deeply in thought.
Recognizing the sparrow the butterfly told it of how it had been so perplexed by what it had said. The sparrow did not immediately understand. Instead, in it's cheerful way it asked the butterfly if it had seen the great valley below.
No, it had not."Did you see or hear the new squirrel babies?" chirped the sparrow, "They were so cute."
"No," the butterfly responded, it didn't remember.
"And did you find your mate today?" The sparrow asked as it winked knowingly.
No, again, it had been to lost in it's own thoughts.
"But what did you mean by your words?" implored the butterfly as the life seemingly started to flow out of this dying creature.
Looking sadly at the butterfly, the sparrow took a deep breath and let out a heavy sigh.
As the life continued to leave the butterfly, the words of the sparrow were the last thing it heard before the great darkness wrapped its mind.
"You did not hear me finish my sentence, poor butterfly," the sparrow said as a tear formed in it's eye.
"As I took to the sky after saying, 'My time has come . . .' I shouted to the wind . . ." The sparrow paused.
And just before the butterfly died, it heard the words the sparrow had shouted to the wind.
The sparrow had said, "My time has come . . . TO LIVE!"
hak
3 Apr 2002
2115
{Note: This was my first attempt at a serious story. I wanted to try one with a message of sorts. Let me know what you think at the e-mail link below. thanks for your time and interest.)
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