October

 Hello and welcome to October.  This is my favorite month. I haven't posted much for awhile, but I'll get back to it in time.  I hope all is well with you readers.  God bless, enjoy the autumn, (or spring for all of you in the southern hemisphere), and be well........see you soon.      Theresa M

📸 by cocoparisienne on pixabay

PS - Feel free to read through my previous posts.  On the right column of this page you will find posts listed by the year, click on, choose a month from that year, then choose a title. Or review under the section of "Post ABC List."  Find title you want to read and go back to the year/month to look up. Thanks so much.  Enjoy. 

The Fable of the Butterfly

“Yum, yum, yum,” the little yellowish-green caterpillar mumbled.  “These leaves are delicious.  I’m so glad I landed in this beautiful garden.”

“What a lovely caterpillar you are,” said a voice two big green leaves away.  “Hi!  My name is Lady.  Welcome to the garden,” the teeny, tiny red and black bug smiled.

“Why thank you,” replied the caterpillar.  “It is certainly a scrumptious place to dine.  And nice to meet you Lady.  I don’t have a name that I know of.”

“Oh you will in time.  You’re the type of creature who has an interesting journey ahead.  Now you are a caterpillar, but your names will change.  Actually a lot will change for you,” Lady Bug explained.

“Well that may be, but I feel like this appetite will always be ready for luscious leaves,” said the little yellowish-green caterpillar, as he munched some more.

“Hee-hee!  You are silly.  Enjoy!  I hope to see you soon, if I can recognize you,”  Lady Bug sighed.

“Recognize me?  Here I am!” laughed the caterpillar, not understanding Lady Bug’s words.

Later that day Doggie the little yellow cat, had been napping in the shade of the garden.  He stretched and yawned, and then saw a funny long thing nearby.  On closer inspection it was a little yellowish-green caterpillar. 

“Hello,” said Doggie.  “How’s it going?”

“Well, ok, although I feel a bit itchy in this skin and I must say, I need to change,” answered the caterpillar.

“Yes, you will need to do that a few times, but it won’t always be like that.  The final time will be a doozie!” laughed Doggie.

“Whatever do you mean?” asked the caterpillar.

“You’ll see in time, things change, whether we want them to or not,” Doggie taught the tiny caterpillar.

Days passed.  One more time to change his skin, the yellowish-green caterpillar wound himself up in a tight but cozy cocoon of reddish-brown color that hung from a twig on his favorite branch.  He stayed there for what seemed an eternity, changing, growing, as strange things emerged.

“Hmm.  What is going on?” he wondered aloud in the dark one night. 

 

 

Nearby, an owl named Content responded, “Hoot!  You are changing. You are no longer a little caterpillar.” 

“But I don’t want to die.  I want to stay a caterpillar,” he cried to the owl.  “What can I do?  Why is this happening?”

 “It’s just the way life is.  You changed from a caterpillar into a chrysalis.  You will still be a part of who you were, just in a different form, and with a different way to enjoy life.  You will live on.  Hoot!”  Content the Owl’s eyes brightened at the thought of what lay ahead.  

“Are you sure?  I don’t know.  I’m not so comfortable with all this happening right now,” cried the chrysalis.

“It won’t be much longer.  There are better days ahead.  You will be stronger if you get through the struggle.”  The Owl named Content left his wise words for the caterpillar-turned-chrysalis to contemplate.

A sunny morning.  Easing his way out of the cocoon was a new being.  Not the tiny yellowish-green caterpillar who entered it, nor the reddish-brown chrysalis it created, but a beautiful yellow butterfly, slowly, deliberately, stretching its wings, pointing its antennae here and there.  He stepped delicately onto the big green leaf.  “Oh, my!” he thought, “everything they told me is true!” 

Fluttering his wings, feeling thirsty for nectar, he looked into the bright beautiful luscious garden and noted the many flowers there were to choose from.

“Hi!” said a familiar voice. “I recognize you, somehow I do!”

The new-born butterfly looked at her, and saw a teeny tiny red and black bug, and felt a bit of deja vu.  “I think I know you.  Lady, right?”

“Yes it’s me!  So glad to see you made it through your struggles.  Are you feeling better?” Lady Bug asked.

“Yes, actually I feel wonderful!  I feel as if I could fly all over and drink nectar from the flowers!” shouted the butterfly.

“Yes you can do that!” laughed Lady Bug.  “I hereby name you Shiloh the Butterfly.  May your days be peaceful and bring beauty to others.”  Lady Bug smiled.

“Thank you.  For everything.”  Shiloh the Butterfly flapped his wings and took flight into the bright sunny day over the garden.  Life had never felt so good.  

Moral of the story:

As Lady Bug said:  “A lot will change.”

As Doggie the Little Yellow Cat said:  “Things change whether we want them to or not.”

As Content the Owl said:  “You will be stronger if you get through the struggle.”

Thus: Our lives are always changing.  Trust the process.  In time, all will be well.

Theresa M

The Fable of Mosey the Mutt

A scruffy, scraggly mutt sniffed around the garden of peas and beans.  “What a lovely place to visit,” sighed Mosey the Mutt.  “I don’t know how I never found this place before.”

📷 Pierre Stickney, public domain

“Bark, bark!  My name is Bravo,” said the dog over the fence.  “Come for a visit.  My humans own this land.”

Mosey looked over at Bravo, a strong,  proud black labrador.  Hesitant, he asked first, “Yip!  Are you sure it’s okay?  I don’t want to get sent away.”

“Yes!  Yes!  You are welcome here.  I’ll be your friend.  Besides, my human likes animals and will likely take you in.  But,” sniffed Bravo, “you may have to get a bath first!”

A bit embarrassed, Mosey the Mutt replied, “Well, yeah, I guess that would be okay.  What about some food?  I am a bit hungry.  See, I’ve been traveling a long way, trying to find my humans.  We were camping in the woods, but I followed after a squirrel, who led me to a raccoon.  Then I followed the raccoon, who led me to a cat.  Then I followed the…”

“I see, I see,” said Bravo.  “Well, you have a nice necklace on.  I’m sure my human can check it out and try to help you find your humans.”

“Can he?  Can she?  That would be wonderful!” cried out Mosey.  “Oh, I’m Mosey, by the way.”

“Bark!  Bark!  Good to meet you.”  Bravo reached out his paw to Mosey, who hung his head down and slowly walked forward.  They sniffed each other out, started laughing, and played away the afternoon.

By dinner time the human returned.  “Aw, a little scruffy, scraggly mutt,” said the human.  “Bravo, you did good keeping him company.  But he looks a little hungry.  Let’s get some food.”  So the human went to get Bravo and Mosey big bowls of crunchy dinner.

“A feast!” thought Mosey.  “yum, yum, yum,” he delightfully and noisily ate up his meal.  Then lapped up fresh water.   “Thank you Bravo, and thanks to your human.”

“No sweat,” Bravo smiled.

“Now my little darlings, I think you both need baths!”  The human had returned with the water hose and an inflatable baby pool.

“Woof! replied Bravo.  “Yip!” replied Mosey.

Human sprayed both of them.  It was refreshing as the day had been a hot one.  The human soaped them up and they played and laughed and ran in circles.

After bathing, they all sat out on the grass.   Human had a glass of iced tea, and the dogs each had a rawhide chew.  Human reached over to look at Mosey’s necklace:  name, human name, and phone number.

Yes, human had to call to let them know Mosey’s whereabouts.  Even though it would be fun having another dog, Mosey’s family would be worried and sad.

Two days later a camper pulled up to Bravo’s house.  A man, a woman, and two boys got out and excitedly ran over to Mosey.

“Bark!” Bravo called to announce their arrival.  Human came out and talked to the visitors.  They exchanged greetings and talked about their recent events.

As they did, Bravo and Mosey looked at each other, each whimpering a bit.  The two human boys noticed and let them get together one last time.  Bravo and Mosey sniffed each other out, started whimpering again, then laughed.  “It’s okay,” Bravo said, “you had an adventure, made a friend, and now get to go home again.”

“I did.  Yes, indeed I did.  Thanks to you and your human for being so kind to me.  I will never forget,” Mosey said, as he reached out his paw to Bravo.  They wrestled lightly but politely.  It was time to go.

Mosey peered out the back window of the camper, paws on the window, as the family drove away.  Bravo sat bravely, “Bark!  Bark!” His human waved.

“Yip!  Bark!” cried out Mosey.  “What a lovely place to visit.”

Moral of the story:  Be a friend to a stranger.

 Be of help. 

And then, even in the goodbyes, life is good.

Theresa M