Week 2 Story: The Caterpillar and the Three Worms
There was once a small caterpillar who lived together with three worms in the meadow. Many other insects and small animals also lived among this meadow. The caterpillar lived her whole life feeling left out because it did not look like the other worms. Even though the caterpillar felt this way, she tried its best to have a positive mindset and tried to accept her unique differences. The caterpillar was always taught that because she was different, she would have to choose to "die" one day by forming something called a cocoon when she has served her purpose in life. This purpose was to be selfless and to help anyone that came across her way. This scared the caterpillar, but nevertheless she knew it was her duty in life.
One day the three worms and the caterpillar were visited by a beautiful monarch butterfly, a creature that kept the meadow and its creatures safe. "I have a task for each of you young creatures." the monarch said. "I need you to take a journey to find a rare item that would be of value to trade. Our meadow is being taken over by the mammals and they agreed to leave us in peace if we had something to trade to them." This worried the three worms and the caterpillar because they knew that they would have to go to great lengths to find these items, and without the meadow the rest of the creatures living in it would not survive.
The oldest worm decided to burrow to the deepest point in the ground to find this rare item. It burrowed so deep that it found so many rare items, such as different colored gems and stones. The worm knew that finding these things would keep itself safe forever and make it rich. The worm decided that it would give one of the items it found to the monarch butterfly and keep the rest for itself.
The next oldest worm also decided to burrow into the ground and found special glasses that belonged to the mole since it is blind. These glasses were a gift to the mole from the Monarch Butterfly so it would be able to see and live an easier life. The worm knew that these were rare, so it stole the glasses and went up to the surface of the meadow.
The youngest worm burrowed itself and looked for days for a rare item, but never found anything. The worm decided that it would run away from the meadow and leave its companions behind in order to find the next best meadow to live at in case the mammals took over.
The caterpillar was not a worm so she had no way of burrowing bellow ground to find a rare item. She looked everywhere in the meadow, but only found flowers. Flowers were not rare because they were all over the meadow and she knew the mammals would not accept them. The caterpillar thought to herself and finally came to a decision. "If the other worms do not find an item to trade, I shall give the Monarch Butterfly the cocoon I turn into when I die. That should be the rarest item and will give our meadow a second chance."
The Monarch Butterfly was aware of the young caterpillar's thoughts, and came back to the meadow that very day. "Hello young caterpillar." the Monarch said. "Unfortunately the three worms were not able to find a rare item to trade to the mammals, have you found something?" the Monarch asked. "Yes, I have. I believe it will be so rare that the mammals would not want to pass it up." the caterpillar said. "I will need 5 days to obtain this item. Please come back then and we will be able to save our meadow."
Five days later, the Monarch Butterfly came back and saw a cocoon where the caterpillar told it to meet her. To her surprise, the caterpillar turned into a Monarch Butterfly. "You have passed my test young caterpillar, and now you have turned into a beautiful Butterfly."
Author's Note: I loved the story of the Hare and its selflessness. I wanted to create a similar story where a creature gets rewarded for being selfless. I am in love with butterflies, so I wanted to write a story about a caterpillar turning into one.
Bibliography: The Hare that Was not Afraid to Die Story source: Eastern Stories and Legends by Marie L. Shedlock (1920).
Drawing of some Butterflies Source
I loved your approach to this story. I think it was so great how you did it with butterflies because they are caterpillars first and then do turn into a beautiful butterfly. Great job on the story. It definitely made me want to keep reading. I also loved the butterfly picture you included, its so pretty and colorful!
ReplyDeleteHi Natalia! I really liked your interpretation of the Hare! The ending reminded me of a sort of ugly ducking transformation into a swan. But I also liked that there was a lot more of development leading up to that point. Also, your whole page and the pictures you chose follow a really cute theme, nice job!
ReplyDeleteHi Natalia!
ReplyDeleteI also love butterflies and I love the picture that you chose to go along with the story. I was really drawn into your first paragraph. I enjoy how it set up the caterpillar's character and kind of let the readers in on what kind of story we were going to be reading. You let us know that the caterpillar was kind and thoughtful, even though she was different. Your descriptions of each worm burrowing itself down into the ground to find a treasure was also exciting. Each time I looked forward to what the next worm was gonna find. The Monarch has a very important job, keeping the meadow and its inhabitants safe isn't an easy task, I wonder if there's a way you could elaborate on that part of story without drawing too much attention away from the caterpillar's story?? I also think it would be really cool to read about the caterpillar's new life as a monarch and her journey.
Hi Natalia! This story is great. It's so descriptive and I love the adjectives you use throughout the story. It's so fun that you went with a butterfly as your character. I was drawn into your story from your writing right off the bat, and loved it the rest of the way through. I'm really looking forward to reading your stories in the future!
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