2008
February – 10     March – 9 11
2007
April – 1 5 10 11 14 19 24 26     May – 2
January – 1 2 5 8 13 15 22 30     February – 7 8 12 
2006
December – 1 2 3 4 5 8 9 10 11 13 15 17 19 24 25 27
November – 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

The Butterfly and the Robin
January 15, 2007

Once upon a time in Fayetteville, North Carolina, there lived a happy family in a big house atop a hill overlooking a beautiful lake, a forest, and a noisy Kangaroo gas station across the street.

The father (lets call him Leon) harbored fond memories of his daughter’s delight and happiness (lets call her Sondra) whenever she spotted a butterfly in the trees near the house.

So at Christmas time, Leon purchased a small butterfly habitat for Sondra, so she could watch butterflies grow and then set them free in the forest. The butterfly larvae had to be ordered separately so they would arrive at the proper time of year to be born. All winter long, Sondra looked forward to the arrival of her butterflies.

In the second week of April, four tiny butterfly larvae arrived via mail in a small jar with food inside to last 11 or 12 days. Over the next week and a half, the larvae grew fat, climbed to the top of the jar and attached themselves to the underside of the lid.

Sondra carefully detached each pupa from the lid and gingerly transferred it from the jar into the butterfly habitat. She discovered, to her dismay that one of the larva had died. That made her very sad, but being a “glass is half full” personality type, she looked forward to watching the remaining three butterflies emerge from their cocoons.

Several days later, much to everyone’s delight, three small, colorful “Painted Lady” butterflies emerged from their cocoons. It wasn’t long before they spread their wings to show off a rainbow of beautiful colors. It was time to set them free.

On the very next day, Sondra took the artificial habitat outside so the newly-born butterflies could get used to the outside temperature. She opened the top of the habitat to let them fly out. The butterflies seemed a bit confused and just stayed where they were. Sondra stuck her hand into the habitat; coaxed one of the butterflies onto her finger and then waved her hand gently in the open air. The butterfly would not fly.

Sondra blew gently on the butterfly for encouragement. It flapped its wings a few times and flew off in the direction of a nearby tree. It had flown only six or seven feet when there was a sudden flash of grey and the butterfly disappeared. Sondra looked incredulously at Leon and asked, “Did a bird just swoop my butterfly?” Leon suspected foul play but said nothing.

Then, just like a cat proudly bringing a captured mouse into the house to show off to its master; a large fat robin landed on the ground not two feet from the deck. Butterfly wings protruded from both sides of the robin’s beak. The robin proceeded to eat the butterfly in plain view of Sondra and Leon. When it was done, it flew off in the direction of the roof. The only evidence the butterfly had ever existed was a small piece of its colorful wing lying broken on the ground.

Sondra was heartbroken. She had unwittingly released her new-born butterfly to its death. The remaining two butterflies stopped flapping their wings as if they knew what had happened. An aura of sadness descended on the family. An exciting and happy event had turned tragic.

Sondra closed the top of the habitat and decided to wait a few hours before attempting another release. She hoped the robin would go elsewhere to hunt.

Later that same day, Sondra tried to free another butterfly but this time it would not climb onto her finger. Leon cupped his hand around the butterfly and removed it from the habitat. He opened his hand and the butterfly flew off in the direction of the roof. This time Sondra saw the robin swoop out of the sky towards the butterfly but the roof obscured her view and she could not see what happened after that. She assumed the worst.

There was only one butterfly left. Sondra thought she might be able to deceive the robin by releasing her last butterfly from the other side of the house where the trees were closer. She carried the habitat to the back of the house, gently took the butterfly out of its habitat and launched it into the air. Sondra and Leon both cheered as the butterfly headed towards the trees.

Unfortunately, the wobbly butterfly flew straight through the trees where it might have found protection, and headed for the road and heavy traffic. Sondra lost sight of it. Whether the butterfly made it across the street is anybody’s guess. If a windshield did not prematurely end its short life, it may have succumbed to the exhaust fumes from all the SUVs and trucks driving by. Sondra never saw her butterfly reach the other side of the road.

Leon sees her every day though, checking the trees around the house in hopes that her butterfly has returned.

TOP