Week 5 Story: The Butterfly and The Spider
Once upon a time, there was a beautiful butterfly who lives deep in the enchanted forest. It's wings are periwinkle in color and is dotted with tiny white specks like the stars, twinkling every time it touches the light. Every flutter releases glittery dust and its movement is filled with grace, like it is dancing. This butterfly has a carefree attitude as it is one of the most beautiful creature in the forest, and the butterfly knew it too.
One day, while the butterfly flutters without a care in the world, it did not notice the invisible trap that was set up in between the branches. Without time to think, the butterfly flew into the web set by the spider, a master weaver. The spider's web looks delicate but tough, thin but expansive, and pretty but dangerous. The weaver's technique is one of a kind and no one can escape the sticky web once caught.
Trapped, the butterfly flutters with all its might but to no avail. Sensing movement, the spider then crawl towards the web and saw the meal lies in front of him. The butterfly then realize the danger lies before him. The butterfly started pleading to the spider to spare its life.
"Please don't eat me, spider. I help fill this forest with beauty and happiness. Without me, the forest would be without sparkles and colors. My beautiful colored wings are what made this forest magical."
Then the spider reply,
"While you fly around carefree in the forest, an ugly creature like me have to scramble for food. Unfortunately for you, you are my food, and the means for me to live another day. Who knows when I'll be able to catch another prey. If I let you go, I will be starved and surely won't last for long."
Who is in the right? The butterfly or the spider?
Author's Note: I read the story of "Twenty-Two Goblins" and the story "The Snake's Poison" partly inspired my story. The story is about an eagle carrying a dead snake and the snake's poison dropped into the food served to the man by a charitable woman. The man then blamed the woman for poisoning him. The lesson of that story is that it is the man's fault because although it is an accident, he blamed the charitable woman for poisoning him. My story does not have the same lesson. I ended the story with a question so that the reader can pick who is in the right in this situation.
Bibliography: "Twenty-Two Goblins," translated by Arthur Ryder. Illustrated by Perham W. Nahl.
Image Source: Spider and Butterfly at Pixabay
Hey Tony,
ReplyDeleteWow! I really enjoyed reading this story and I think you did a really good job of teasing the readers mind with a question at the end. I think it is important to keep your reader engaged as much as you can and I can say you did really well with that. I wonder why in particular you went with the characters of a spider and butterfly? There is nothing wrong with the character choice I am just curious as to your thought process for the selection. What if throughout the story you asked other questions that entice the readers mind and to keep reading? I know for a short story like this a big question at the end works really well but for your other stories what if you used the same strategy? These are just a couple of suggestions you may try as we start our projects. Keep up the great work!
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ReplyDeleteHello!
ReplyDeleteI loved the imagery for this story. I really liked the topic and it reminded me of survival of the fittest. I like how you made a strong argument for a dilemma without using too many words and keeping the story short and concise yet powerful. I wonder if you could have added a rebuttal from the butterfly as it really would have made the story interesting. I was really invested in their conversation because it was a do or die kind of situation. I would have wanted to know what the butterfly says to save him or herself. Overall, I think you did a really good job! Keep up the good work :)
Hi Tony! I loved the descriptiveness you used in this story. The sentence describing the butterfly's appearance was excellent! I felt like I could really see its sparkly wings and beauty. I also love that you left the decision on who was in the right to the reader! Personally, as much as I love butterflies, I have to side with the spider. The butterfly kind of reminds me of the story of the rainbow fish, where they are conceited and think they are the best thing in their whole ecosystem! I wonder if the butterfly was able to plead his case and possibly learn a lesson, or if the spider went ahead and ate him. If the spider ate him, the butterfly never had the chance to learn his lesson which is kind of sad. I noticed that when the butterfly made the comment to the spider about making the forest beautiful and saying the forest wouldn't be pretty without it, the spider didn't necessarily respond to the conceitedness of this statement. In order to really drive the lesson home, maybe you could address the butterfly's self obsession through the spider's words. Overall, I really liked your story. I appreciated that it was easy to understand what you wanted to get across with great detail to provide a picture!
ReplyDeleteHey Tony!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your descriptions of the characters of the story and the imagery that you provided! Saying something like "twinkling every time it touches the light," made me, the reader, feel like I could imagine what the butterfly looked like in the enchanted forest. I also love how the spider was not just known as a spider but a "master weaver." I think that was very creative. I thought the imagery was great but the dialogue was shorter. I wonder how the story would sound if you added some more details or things they talked about in the dialogue they exchanged. Also, out of all the insects why did you chose the two you did? The spider had said that he was an "ugly creature" while the butterfly was seen as extremely beautiful. Maybe the spider could express that it's hard for them to let the butterfly go because they have struggled their whole life seeing the butterfly fly by in all of its beauty. The spider could be seeking some sort of revenge/feeling jealous because they are "ugly" while the butterfly lives a carefree life and is beautiful! Overall, great story! I enjoyed reading it!!