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The Story of the Butterfly


I want to share a little fable with you. It’s called The Story of the Butterfly. It’s a sad

one, so ready yourself.


It’s about a young teacher and a class of eager third graders. One day, the children

found a cocoon on the branch of a tree outside their classroom. They asked the

teacher if they could take it inside to study it and watch the butterfly develop. The

teacher agreed, and purchased a butterfly habitat for the soon-to-be butterfly.


Each day, they excitedly watched the cocoon for signs of life. After several weeks, one

of the children noticed a small hole in the cocoon. The hole became larger and larger.

Soon they could see the head of the creature inside.


The children became very eager. They saw the creature struggling to free itself, and

they wanted to help. And so did the teacher. They couldn’t stand to watch it suffer.


So, very carefully, she cut away the gray, flaky material, to help the butterfly. Soon, the

butterfly was free. But something was wrong. The butterfly’s wings were misshapen,

and it could not fly.


The children went home thinking that, when they returned the next day, the butterfly

would have finished developing and look more like a butterfly. And have beautiful,

operative wings. It would be lovely, and it would fly.


Sadly, when they got to their classroom, they found the creature dead in the bottom of

the habitat.


The teacher did some quick research and tearfully explained to the students that

butterflies, if they are not fully formed, must struggle out of their cocoons. There is a

fluid in their bodies, she explained, that must get into the tiny tubes that make up their

wings. The only way for the fluid to get into the tubes is for the creature to struggle out

of the cocoon. Struggling to get through the small hole in the end of the cocoon

distributes the fluid to the wings, which make it possible for the butterfly to fly.


The teacher was very upset with this knowledge. And so were the children. Through

an act of what she and the children thought was love and kindness, they had actually

prevented the butterfly from becoming the beautiful creature God had created it to be.


The butterfly was meant to struggle. It could not reach its full potential any other way.

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3 Comments


anngustitus
Dec 04, 2023

What a perfect visual example of the negative effects on a Narcissist when people enable them!

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Carol Compton
Carol Compton
Aug 15, 2021

Is this in relation to the narcissist or the survivor. Although I am struggling and not dead the struggle is real and overwhelming at times. Thankyou for all you do to help us

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jamesbauer100
Apr 19, 2023
Replying to

I would say intentions of helping must be viewed through wisdom because such intentions, though sincere and pure, can actually be hurtful the situation.

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