An allegory . . .
The Butterfly Story
The Shadow and the Glory
A NEW BUTTERFLY had appeared in the midst of the Garden of Children. It had never been seen before. It was beautiful beyond description! Full of life and joy, and such, lifting liberty, that it seemed it could take you with it, everywhere, and through, anything. It was like no other butterfly. The sight of its lovely opal-sparkling wings, shimmering in the early morning sunlight brought gasps of delight to the children. They danced in the middle of the Garden like little butterflies themselves, newly escaped of their cocoon.
Tender hearts overflowed with boundless joy.
The butterfly alighted upon the shoulder of one of the smallest children then flew onto his hand. Even from the first moment of its appearance, he had loved it. Nothing in him that wasn’t of it. The child remained perfectly still, lying beneath the green willows among the fragrant flowers of the meadow his feet dipped in the flowing stream.
Rewarded for his stillness, time melted away as he gazed and gazed upon the beautiful butterfly, shining with life and light on his hand. It swept him up and renewed his whole being and he followed the living butterfly whithersoever it flew.
Oh, how all the children longed to share this wonderful new freedom that the butterfly had brought them! Even a new way of living! A new way of seeing! Then some of the older and wiser ones reasoned amongst themselves as to how they should do this.
They came to the conclusion, that if they could just catch the butterfly then they could pass it around to their friends, so that they might all share in this wonderful new joy together. Their idea seemed good to them, so they did it.
They caught the elusive airborne butterfly dancing and shimmering in the warm morning sunlight. They pierced it with a pin. Then they stuck it on a piece of paper. How eagerly they anticipated the delight their friends would have when they saw it.
So the children laid out the pierced butterfly, decently and in order, just as the entomology textbook had taught them. Then they carefully placed it in a box. They were thrilled with it! Here was proof! Evidence of its existence! Now, at last, all their friends would be able to study it for themselves and find out all about it, and learn of the glorious new life of the butterfly and come and join them in the Garden. They passed the box around expectantly.
So shadows come and the glory fades.
While some saw nothing but a decaying, common garden, cabbage white, and thought their friends had quite lost their senses: these lived on the outskirts of the Garden, others did see a beautiful butterfly and became fascinated with its exquisite markings.
They spent much time, and many a happy hour examining it with magnifying glasses, making careful notes of the detailed patterns on its wings, and then comparing them with the textbook. They uncovered many amazing things about this new butterfly. They found exciting evidences of life, encoded in its lovely markings, which they were most earnest and diligent to teach to one another. Those whose interests and passions seemed similar gathered themselves together in separate groups in the Garden.
Oh, the myriads of messages and fascinating things to learn! They took great delight in these things. With them, they were fulfilled and content. Although there never seemed to be quite enough and their search for more was endless. Never having: never finding; they hadn’t got it.
So shadows came and the glory faded.
Then one of the smallest children, who lived in the centre of the Garden, came and looked at the dead butterfly in the box.
“What have you done?” he cried, as he held the lifeless thing in his hand; and he threw it down to the ground and wept in brokenness of heart.
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