The Little Butterfly

Grumpily, the little butterfly sat under a huge leaf where the rain had driven him for shelter. It was supposed to be summer by now, but somehow the Weather God didn’t seem to know that. It had been raining almost non-stop for days.

Once again, the little butterfly peeked out from under the leaf, and plop! A big raindrop landed right on him. Startled, he quickly fluttered back and flapped his beautiful wings until he was dry again.

“No, this simply can’t go on,” he thought. “Something has to be done about it.” And he already knew what: he would pay the Weather God a visit and have a proper grumble about all this rain. Oh yes, that was exactly what he would do.

But how was he supposed to get to the Weather God’s cloud castle in weather like this?

The little butterfly thought and thought. Even if the sun was shining, he probably wouldn’t be able to fly that high. At least, he had never heard of another butterfly who had ever managed to reach the cloud castle.

He spent the whole day thinking about it, and even when it grew dark and all the animals were getting ready for bed, he was still working on his plan. It wasn’t until the night was almost over that the little butterfly curled up beneath his leaf and fell asleep straight away. He knew he would need lots and lots of sleep if he wanted to visit the Weather God during the next break in the rain.

And oh yes, he really did want to!

It was late the next morning when the butterfly finally woke up. A shy little sunbeam had dared to peek through the grey clouds and was now gently tickling his face.

“Just the right weather for my plan,” thought the little butterfly happily. He stretched, gave a soft yawn, and chased the last bit of sleepiness away. Then he fluttered his lovely colourful wings a few times to loosen them up. He didn’t want to get tired halfway there and have to turn back.

After finishing his morning exercises, he carefully peeked out from under the leaf. And sure enough... it wasn’t raining anymore.

So it really was the perfect weather to put his plan into action.

Carefully, the little butterfly crawled out from under the leaf and looked up at the sky. He noticed with concern that far, far above him, the grey clouds were still drifting about. At butterfly school—yes, little butterflies had to go to school and learn lots of things too—he had learned that grey clouds were heavier than the fluffy white clouds, which was why they floated lower in the sky.

So he could do it. Yes, he truly believed he could, even though no butterfly had ever flown that high before.

But before setting off, he needed a proper breakfast. Without a good meal, he definitely wouldn’t make it.

At once, the little butterfly set off to find some flowers. His favourite treat was the sweet nectar from blackberry blossoms that grew at the edge of the little woodland he called home.

He didn’t have to search for long before he found them.

So he had a lovely big breakfast first.

Once he had filled his tummy, the little butterfly set off. Of course, he didn’t know exactly where the Weather God’s cloud castle was, but he firmly believed he would find it as soon as he reached the clouds.

His tiny wings beat faster and faster. Then he pushed himself off the ground and shot straight upwards, just like a rocket.

Higher and higher flew the little butterfly. By now, nobody on the ground could see him anymore because he was so tiny and already so very high up.

The closer he got to the clouds, the more he believed he could do it.

Yes, he would make it. He was sure of it.

“I can do it! I can do it! I can do it!” murmured the little butterfly to himself.

But slowly, he began to run out of strength. His wings flapped more and more slowly, and the grey clouds were still quite a long way off.

Then... yes, then he simply couldn’t flap his wings anymore. A deep tiredness spread through his little body.

And he almost fell from the sky.

But at the very last moment, a sparrow swooped in. The sparrow had been watching the little butterfly’s daring adventure for quite a while and secretly admired his bravery.

He had flown right underneath the little butterfly so he could catch him when the exhausted butterfly finally stopped flapping his wings.

With a bit of a bump—but also a great feeling of relief—the little butterfly landed on the sparrow’s back.

“What were you trying to do?” chirped the sparrow.

“I wanted to complain to the Weather God about the weather,” replied the little butterfly. “But I’m too weak to reach the cloud castle,” he added sadly.

“But why would you want to do that, dear little butterfly?” asked the sparrow in his squeaky voice.

“Because it keeps raining all the time,” answered the little butterfly tiredly, giving a huge yawn.

“But rain is a good thing,” said the sparrow.

“Why is it good?” asked the little butterfly.

“Well, plants need water to grow big and strong,” explained the sparrow. “And when it rains, all the juicy, tasty worms come out of the ground. They’re soooo delicious!”

“I didn’t know that,” said the little butterfly sadly.

“Well, now you do, dear little butterfly,” chirped the sparrow as he began to glide down towards the ground.

“Yes. Then I suppose rain really is something wonderful after all,” replied the little butterfly as he slid wearily off the sparrow’s back and crawled straight under his leaf.

He fell fast asleep at once.

The sparrow watched over him, then sat down in front of the leaf and waited for the little butterfly to wake up again.

That’s what friends do.

And yes, during this adventure, the two of them had found a friend in each other.

* * *

When I first wrote The Little Butterfly in 2011, I was living on the beautiful island of Mauritius. The story was inspired by the wonder, curiosity, and imagination that children bring into our lives every day. It is dedicated to all the children who have been part of my life over the years.

The story was originally published in German in 2012 by Traumstunden Verlag in Essen, Germany. Seeing it in print for the first time was a very special moment for me.

Now, many years later, The Little Butterfly is available in English for the very first time. I hope this little adventure of courage, friendship, and understanding brings as much joy to its readers as it has brought to me.