Once upon a time, in the land of Melzville, a young butterfly larva was born. She was as cute as any larva could be, but her parents knew she would grow into something beautiful someday. She lived just like any other larva – going to school, playing happily with the thousands of her brothers and sisters, but just one friend, Curtis the Caterpillar. You see, Bettina the larva was different from the other larvae in that while all the others had blossomed into butterflies, she had not yet done so. She still remained a larva. All the newly blossomed butterflies at her school teased her a lot, saying she would never be anything and always remain ugly, never knowing how it feels to be a beautiful butterfly. Bettina took this badly and hated how she looked. She also hated how she let others hurt her. She began to wonder if what the others were saying was actually true.
Her parents and Curtis were always supportive of her, assuring her that no matter what happens and what others say, she will always be beautiful in their eyes. However, this was not enough to convince her. The meanest of her critics from school was Bully the Bullant, who loved teasing her at every chance he got and generally making her life uncomfortable. After one such occasion, Bettina got sick and tired of all the teasing and she ran away from home. She wanted to get away from the people hurting her and the pain she felt from them. She ran knowing that she needed to find something in herself to get her through this difficult time in her young life.
With nowhere to go and no real plans, Bettina could do nothing but crawl along the side of a lonely road, hoping someone would help her. Lucky for her, someone did decide to help, the Queen of Melzville, Lydia the Ladybeetle. Distressed by what she saw, the Queen made her limo driver pull over on the side of the road and pick Bettina up. The Queen took her to her palace, knowing very well that Bettina had something troubling her. They talked and Bettina felt much better about herself. The Queen was very wise and experienced with a lot of advice to pass on to Bettina. The Queen offered Bettina a room in the palace to sleep for the night. Bettina slept well, knowing that tomorrow brings another day and a new attitude and outlook on life. She couldn’t wait to face Bully the Bullant now.
After a peaceful night’s sleep, Bettina awoke and got out of bed with the intentions of thanking the Queen very much for her help and generosity. However, when Bettina looked in her bedroom mirror, she got the shock of her life. Overnight, Bettina had blossomed into a beautiful butterfly! She flew quickly to show the Queen who was startled by what she thought was a stranger. She soon realized that the stranger was actually Bettina who had blossomed overnight into a beautiful butterfly. They both danced around the room in excitement. Bettina had the brightest and most dazzling colors ever seen on a butterfly in all the land. The Queen, who was growing old, had been secretly on the hunt for a replacement to her throne and knew the minute she saw Bettina on the side of the road that she would be future Queen. She may not have looked the part, but Bettina’s beauty shone from within all along.
Having been newly appointed Queen, Bettina flew home to tell her loved ones the good news; however no-one recognized her. They were shocked and amazed at her transformation, none more so than Bully the Bullant. Seeing Bettina made him think twice about his bullying, especially now that Bettina had been crowned the new Queen. He had learnt his lesson and never teased anyone again. The fact that Bettina had blossomed from a little larva into a beautiful butterfly was just a bonus as all her loved ones knew that Bettina was already beautiful on the inside. It just took her a while to see it for herself. Everyone in Melzville lived happily ever after under their beautiful new Queen.
Review or comment on Colors from Within –
Reviews:
Aw mate, nice story. Knew you could do it. – Mel Z 2/6/06
Nice work. Look forward to the second edition. – Des Kent 11/12/06
Beautifully told story … butterfly and larva, what good use of these two.
– Kim 10/8/08
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