This is a story of an unusual friendship. A friendship that was both rare and precious. It’s a story about the friendship between a caterpillar and a rosebud. The place where this beautiful friendship started was a garden where a bunch of noisy children played daily, after they had completed their schoolwork.
Every day a caterpillar would crawl up from the ground where it lived, up the rose plant and chew its leaves. One day the caterpillar saw a tiny rosebud on the plant. The caterpillar fell in love with the rosebud instantly. It constantly watched the tiny bud while chewing the green and juicy leaves. Even the tiny rosebud started liking the caterpillar a lot. It stared at the caterpillar as the worm crawled up and down.
One day the caterpillar decided to talk to the rosebud. The bud had decided the same, that come what may, it would talk to the caterpillar.
“Hello,” said the caterpillar. “I’m Waggy.”
“Nice to meet you,” said the rosebud. “My name is Mimi.”
“Lovely name,” the caterpillar smiled. “It suits you.”
“I like your name a lot too,” said the rosebud. “It has a nice sound to it.”
Soon the caterpillar and the rosebud became friends. Very good friends. They would chat for hours about all the things they had seen the whole day. They would watch the sun rise and set. They would watch the birds fly in the sky. They would watch the children play in the garden. They would crack jokes and tell each other stories. They looked forward to the few minutes they’d get to spend together
each day.
Before crawling back to its house, the caterpillar would hug the tiny rosebud and wish it goodnight. The rosebud would do the same.
Their friendship continued. Other insects watched them with envy. So did the other plants. But no one troubled them or tried to interfere. They envied the blossoming friendship from a distance.
One day the caterpillar hid itself as it was undergoing metamorphosis. It stopped eating, it hung upside down from a twig and spun a silky cocoon around itself. In short, it had started moulting into a chrysalis. The caterpillar stayed in its protective casing for a few weeks, as its metamorphosis had started. Its body tissue broke down and reformed into wings, legs and other adult parts.
It eventually emerged as a beautiful yellow and green butterfly.
Meanwhile the tiny rose felt bad that its close friend had deserted it. It asked everyone if they had seen the caterpillar. But no one had seen its friend. The rosebud felt sad. It watched the sun in the sky and the birds flying. It watched the children playing. It felt lonely, and shed plenty of tears.
The bud grew bigger and bigger. In a few days, it shed its green covering called sepals. Its lovely red petals started unfurling. It soon blossomed into a beautiful flower.
The flower looked here and there searching for its old friend the caterpillar. The butterfly flew around the rose plant searching for its missing friend the tiny rose bud.
“Have you seen my friend?” the flower asked the butterfly.
“I’m searching for my own friend,” the butterfly replied. “I was going to ask you if you have seen my old friend somewhere.”
“Who is your friend?” the flower questioned.
“It was a tiny bud named Mimi,” the caterpillar replied. “Who was your friend?” it asked.
“A caterpillar named Waggy,” the flower answered.
The butterfly and the flower stared at each other for a long time, taking in all the details of each other.
“I’m the caterpillar who has transformed into a butterfly,” the butterfly said.
“Oh my my,” the rose sighed. “My little friend you have transformed into such a beauty. I’m your bud friend,” it said shyly.
“Goodness me,” the butterfly smiled. “You have become so big and beautiful. I just can’t take my eyes off you.”
“Neither can I,” the flower smiled. “Why did you leave me?”
“I needed that time to metamorphose into a butterfly.”
“I also took some time to bloom fully,” the flower said. “Come closer, I want to have a closer look at your beautiful wings.”
Fluttering its wings, the butterfly moved towards the flower. Perching on the red flower, it dropped a kiss over its satiny petals.
The two friends continued their friendship, chatting about everything, and the other insects and plants continued to watched them with envy.
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