The Silent Beat of a Butterfly’s Wings

It was when the animals and insects roamed the land with ease, that the butterfly was considered the most beautiful creature in the land. He flew with such grace, such elegance that all the land would stop as he flew by. The vibrant colors of his wings, captivating the eyes of every animal he passed, seemed to glow in the everlasting sunlight.

Butterfly was so confident in himself, that he would beat his wings loudly to assure that everyone watched as he passed by. And did the animals watch; every time butterfly flew by the noise of his wings would make them gaze about in wonder. He did this every day, and each time the other animals would watch but it was no longer in awe of his beauty. Instead they would stare in blatant annoyance, butterfly did not notice because all knew is that they were staring at him.

The other animals had become annoyed in butterfly’s arrogance, and fox decided to call a meeting to discuss their mutual irritation. In a clearing all the animals met, fox sitting in the centre.

“Comrades,” fox boomed, quieting the other animals’ chatter. “We are here to discuss a common disinterest: butterfly is getting out of hand. He has begun to be rather rambunctious in his efforts to gain our attention, flapping his wings so loud that we hear him before we see him.”

There was a cry of outrage from the rest of the animals, and then silence when fox called for it.

“We all agree that he needs to be stopped, and so I have a plan. When we hear butterfly coming, we will not turn around to look at him. Let him fly by without our acknowledgment, the more we do this, the faster he will realise his erroneous way.”

Soon after the meeting came to an end, and the animals dispersed. The next day butterfly did exactly as the other animals had predicted, flapping his wings loudly to gain their attention. Butterfly slowed in his flight pattern when he realised no one was looking at him. Beating his wings harder, he tried to become louder yet no one turned around. With a huff, he flew away as he wondered why they did not admire his beauty. Maybe he was not loud enough.

For the next week, butterfly would flap his wings louder than before, still there was no acknowledgment of the little insect. Becoming quite flustered with the situation, butterfly decided to talk to one of the bigger animals. He spotted fox, who was hunting on the edge of the forest, and stopped to ask her.

“Why do the other animals ignore me,” he cried as she was about to pounce on her prey.

She growled in frustration as she turned on the smaller creature, then raised her head as she spoke. “You are vain, only interested in your looks, wanting everyone to admire you all the time. Rid yourself of vanity, and maybe then you will be appreciated once more. Now leave me, before I have you as the lunch I missed.”

And from that moment on, there was only the silent beat of the butterfly’s wings.

Moral: Sit down, be humble.