Why Butterflies Stay in the Country

Butterflies don’t go to the city because children will kill them.

Butterflies are some of Olófin’s most beautiful creatures; he made them as colorful and as delicate as any flower, but with wings, and they fly and flit through the forest more easily than petals ride the wind. Yet they weren’t happy creatures. They knew that there was a world beyond theirs, and they wanted to see it, so they went to Olófin one day and told him, “We spent all our lives in the woods among the trees and the flowers and the animals. And we are bored. The world is a huge place, and we want to see what lies beyond the forest.”

“But you are not creatures made for the civilized world,” said Olófin. “You are creatures of the forest and there you are safe. Do not go to the cities. Stay away from the world of men. You will find only death there.”

These were creature of impulse, however, and not creatures of great thought; so the next morning when the sun rose, hundreds of butterflies flitted through the forest and flew to the cities. The buildings were beautiful; the streets were incredible; and the air was filled with the most delicious smells. As they rested on the streets along came the children, and the insects watched these most curious creatures. Had they strong voices the streets would have been filled with their screams when little hands scooped them up; some of their wings were broken before they were tossed away carelessly to the wind while others died in rough, playful hands. Those who were not caught flew high above the children’s heads and flew back to the forests, afraid for their lives.

The butterflies never went back to the cities, and that is why, today, we find them in forests and never on the streets.