Like all butterfly stories, this one begins inside a cocoon.

 

The butterfly had been sleeping for a long time, all wrapped up in her soft, silky cocoon bed.
Change takes time. Becoming a butterfly is not something you can rush.

 

But today, she felt ready.

She was too excited to wait any longer.

She wanted to see her wings!

 

She wiggled her head.

She wiggled her body.

Little by little, the last thread of silk came loose… and she was free.

 

Her wings —wet, crumpled, and heavy— felt heavy.

She knew she had to wait for the sun to dry them with its warm breath before she could fly.

Luckily, butterflies are very patient creatures.

 

Two long hours passed.
When her body finally felt strong and warm, she slowly opened her wings—one tiny stretch at a time.

She turned to look at them—and froze.

 

Her wings were see-through.

Completely transparent.
No colour. No pattern. No shimmer.

It was almost as if… she had no wings at all.

​

How could this be?

Feeling confused, she flew off to look for answers.
Maybe there were other butterflies like her.

 

She followed the Lemon Migrants for a while, with their bright yellow wings that looked like shiny buttercups.

When she felt tired, she sipped morning dew from the grass with the Blue Tigers, who had wings the colour of the night sky.

And when she flew past a bottlebrush tree, she saw a Monarch butterfly with orange and black wings. She looked like the queen of the meadow.

 

But none of the butterflies seemed to see her.
With her clear wings, she felt invisible.

She didn’t know where she belonged.
And most of the time, she felt very lonely.

 

One day, while she was sipping nectar from a big, fluffy dandelion, she saw two little fingers reaching toward her.

A boy with wide green eyes was watching closely.

 

“Look, Mummy! A yellow butterfly! I’m going to catch her!” he said.

Startled, the butterfly flew away

She spotted a cluster of red flowers shaped like Christmas bells and tucked herself inside one. 

 

But the boy followed, giggling with delight.
“She’s red now, Mummy! She changed!”

 

Again, she fluttered away. Again, he followed.

 

But something strange was happening…

The butterfly wasn’t scared anymore.
Someone was playing with her.

 

And it felt fun.

 

She saw a vine full of purple morning glories and landed on one.

A moment later, the boy appeared again, moving slowly this time, gently, eyes wide with wonder.

He watched as the butterfly wings changed again—this time a soft, glowing purple. His favourite colour!

​

He held out his hand… and the butterfly landed right in the middle of his palm.

Her wings were now shimmering with every colour—pink, gold, blue, green and so many more..

“Wow…” the boy whispered. “You’re a rainbow butterfly.”

 

The butterfly stayed for just a moment longer. She looked at her wings and smiled inside.
Then, with a gentle flutter, she lifted off into the sky.