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A Tale of Two Caterpillars
By Harry Watts
One fine spring day, two caterpillars were leisurely munching on a tasty leaf, enjoying the warmth of the morning sun. Winter was over at last, and new life was evident all around them. Green grass poked through the earth, and beautiful flowers of vibrant colors dotted the landscape. Life was good, and the two insects enjoyed their morning meal together.
One of them, adorned with white, yellow, and black stripes, glanced upwards just in time to spot a gorgeous butterfly gliding gracefully through the air. A Monarch, with exquisite orange and black wings sprinkled with white dots, floated on the breeze, pausing now and then to linger over a flower before resuming its flight.
“Look at that!” the first caterpillar exclaimed. “Wouldn’t it be wonderful to float through the air like that? To be free on the wind, lifted above the earth? What a glorious life that must be, and oh, the sights we could see!”
His friend, a plain green caterpillar, stopped munching and looked up at the butterfly, unimpressed. “I don’t know, Stanley,” he said slowly. “I kind of like it down here. It’s safer. No risks. I’m happy with the leaves I have.” Conrad, the green caterpillar, rarely left the ground, and when he did, it was only to climb the lowest branches where the easy-to-reach leaves lay.
Stanley sighed deeply. He didn’t understand how Conrad could be so content. For Stanley, something inside stirred whenever he saw a butterfly, a longing to soar above the earth and experience a new kind of life. Just then, a third caterpillar—striped much like Stanley—ambled up on his six short legs.
“What are you two looking at?” the visitor asked.
“A butterfly,” Stanley replied, eyes still following the Monarch as it floated higher into the air. “A Monarch. I would give anything to fly like that.”
The visitor’s antennae twitched thoughtfully, and after a long pause, he said, “What if I told you there *is* a way to become a butterfly? Would you be interested?”
“No way,” Conrad interrupted before Stanley could respond. “This is nonsense! A trick! Life is fine just as it is.”
Stanley didn’t answer as quickly. His heart fluttered with curiosity. He wasn’t sure he believed the visitor, but something about the idea stirred hope within him. “Tell me,” he whispered. “How?”
The visitor leaned closer. “It will cost you,” he said softly. “You’ll have to give up the life you know. You must be willing to die to the caterpillar you are now, trusting that something new will take its place.”
Stanley’s heart raced. “Give up my life?” he repeated nervously. “What if I don’t make it? What if I lose everything and become… nothing?”
The visitor’s gaze was kind but firm. “It is a leap of faith. There are no guarantees you can see with your eyes. But I promise you—if you are willing to surrender your old self, you’ll be reborn as something far more beautiful than you could imagine.”
Conrad laughed. “Ridiculous. What’s wrong with being a caterpillar? We’ve got leaves, the ground beneath us, and everything we need. I’m not giving that up for some far-off dream.”
Stanley turned back to the visitor, uncertainty clouding his mind. “Does it hurt?”
“Yes,” the visitor admitted. “It will hurt, and there will be moments when you wonder if it was a mistake. You’ll be wrapped in darkness, waiting, not knowing when the new life will come. But if you trust the process, the old will pass away, and you’ll rise in a way you never imagined.”
Stanley chewed thoughtfully on his leaf. “But how do you know?” he asked. “How can I trust that something better will come?”
The visitor smiled gently. “Because I’ve been through it myself. I, too, was once like you—afraid to leave the life I knew. But I gave up my old self, and now I know what it is to fly.”
Stanley’s eyes widened. “So… you were a caterpillar?”
The visitor gave a quiet nod. “And so was the Monarch you see flying above us. The path is open to anyone willing to take it, but you must make the choice for yourself.”
Conrad shook his head and crawled away to find another leaf. “Don’t listen to this nonsense, Stanley. There’s no reason to leave what you know. Life on the ground is good enough for me.”
Stanley watched Conrad settle down among the grass, content with his little world. But Stanley couldn’t stop thinking about the visitor’s words. Could it really be true? Could he let go of what he was now to become something entirely new?
The visitor gave him a knowing look. “When the time comes, you’ll know. And when it does, don’t be afraid to wrap yourself in the cocoon. Trust that even in the darkness, you are not abandoned. New life will come.”
With those final words, the visitor turned and ambled away, disappearing into the grass.
Stanley sat quietly, staring at the Monarch as it fluttered in the breeze, free and beautiful. The sun climbed higher in the sky, warming his back. Conrad’s voice echoed in his mind—*“Life is good enough as it is. Stay where it’s safe.”*
But deep inside, something stirred. The desire to become more, to be free from the ground, grew stronger with every passing moment. Stanley realized that the life he was clinging to could never offer him the freedom he longed for.
Suddenly, the answer was clear. **He had to surrender what he was, trusting that something greater lay on the other side.** It was frightening, but something inside whispered that he wouldn’t be alone in the dark. There was a promise—an unseen hand guiding him through the mystery of transformation.
And so, as the day wore on, Stanley knew what he must do. When the time came, he would wrap himself in the cocoon, let go of the life he had known, and trust that he would be made new—just as the butterfly before him had been.
He would be born again, not as the caterpillar he once was, but as something beautiful, soaring high above the earth, free at last.
This version of the story mirrors the Christian concept of being *born again* through faith. The caterpillar’s decision to enter the cocoon represents the act of surrendering to God, dying to the old self, and trusting in the promise of new life. The darkness of the cocoon symbolizes the trials and uncertainty that come with transformation, while the butterfly reflects the freedom and renewal found through faith in Christ. Just as the caterpillar must leave the familiar ground behind, believers are called to let go of their old lives to experience spiritual rebirth.
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