The Caterpillar

There was a caterpillar called Bo who used to live near a banyan tree in the dense thick jungle of Mithi. Bo was tiny in size and used to crawl around on the ground. He used to glance at the birds flying majestically above in the sky and feel depressed. Here he was, crawling on the ground while so many of GOD's creations were flying, jumping, running past him. "I am the the most ugly, repulsive creature, condemned to crawl on earth', thought Bo. He was filled with pity for himself, for his fate and for all caterpillars on earth.

One day, his mother told him to make a cocoon. The caterpillar got very alarmed. He has no experience in making a cocoon. He thinks his life is already sad and than why this change all of a sudden. He thinks the cocoon is his own tomb and death is close by. Might as well do it as the life is not worth living. But, he thought, let me complain to God at least one last time. What is happening is anyway not fair.

"Just when I had gotten used to my misery, you are taking away whatever little I had, " sobbed Bo.

There was no response was GOD. Finally, Bo made the cocoon and shut himself in that. He thought it was better to be here and wait for his end.

A few days later, he finds himself transformed into a beautiful butterfly. He discovers that he can fly in the sky and humans seem to admire his beauty.

He is surprised by the direction his life has taken and by GOD's designs

THE END

Discussion Points

This is one of the greatest short stories by Paulo Coelho which shows that that the real metamorphosis starts from within. We might be thinking that things are not working according to our liking, and everybody in the world is having a great time while we are only once condemned to a wretched life. We may even question our faith in God, and when we don’t seem to get any reply from him, we become dark and caustic. The trick is to sink within, and try to change from within… sometimes God’s silence is an answer to our prayers, which is directing us towards the journey within and see the transformation occur..

STORY CREDIT: This story has been taken from the book "Maktub" by Paulo Coelho