I'm Not Scared Anymore

Katie wasn’t a caterpillar anymore. She was a butterfly now, and she knew it was time to leave her cocoon. But she was scared.

All of her friends had already hatched. They flew around her cocoon and called for her to join them.

“Come out, Katie!” Her friend Jenny called. “Come play with me in the sunshine!”

Katie liked the warm sunshine. She liked the pretty blue sky and the soft, puffy white clouds.

She wanted to leave her cocoon and play with Jenny.

She stretched out one blue and yellow wing and felt the air. She thought about how good it would feel to fly high up in the sky with the warm sun on her wings. She thought about the blue sky and the white clouds.

Then she thought about cats.

Katie knew what cats were. They were huge furry animals with four paws, and they liked to pounce on butterflies.

What if she was playing with Jenny in the sunshine and a cat pounced on one of them?

“I’m scared of cats,” Katie said. And she folded her wing back up again. She felt safe inside her cocoon. No cats could pounce on her there.

“Come out, Katie!” Her friend Diana called. “Come ride on the breeze with me!”

Katie liked the sound of the breeze whispering through the leaves of the trees. She liked the way the cool breeze felt on a hot summer day.

She wanted to leave her cocoon and ride on the breeze with Diana.

She stretched out one wing and felt the air. She thought about how good it would feel to flap her wings and let the breeze carry her wherever it wanted to.

Then she thought about birds.

Katie knew what birds were. They were hungry flying animals with sharp beaks, and they liked to eat butterflies.

What if she was riding on the breeze with Diana and a bird ate one of them?

“I’m scared of birds,” Katie said. And she folded her wing back up again. She felt safe inside her cocoon. No birds could eat her there.

“Come out, Katie!” Her friend Lisa called. “Come out and rest on a shady tree branch with me!”

Katie liked the rough bark of tree branches. She liked the cool shadows of the leaves.

She wanted to leave her cocoon and rest in the shade with Lisa.

She stretched out one wing and felt the air. She thought about how nice it would be to sit on a tree branch.

Then she thought about spiders.

Katie knew what spiders were. They were small eight-legged animals, and they liked to wrap butterflies up in their webs and eat them.

What if she was resting on a shady tree branch with Lisa and one of them got caught in a spider web?

“I’m scared of spiders,” Katie said. And she folded her wing back up again. She felt safe inside her cocoon. No spiders could wrap her up in their webs and eat her there.

“Come out, Katie!” Her friend Rosie called. “Come sip sweet nectar from the flowers with me!”

Katie was hungry. She had never tasted nectar. As a caterpillar, she had eaten crunchy green leaves. She wondered what nectar would taste like. She thought it would be delicious.

She wanted to leave her cocoon and sip nectar with Rosie.

She stretched out one wing and felt the air. She thought about all the beautiful colored flowers and the green grass.

Then she thought about children.

Katie knew what children where. They were noisy animals that ran around on two legs, and they liked to catch butterflies in glass jars.

What if she was sipping nectar from a flower with Rosie and a child caught one of them in a jar and took her home?

“You can’t stay in your cocoon forever!” Rosie called.

“I’m scared of children,” Katie answered. And she folded her wing back up again. She felt safe inside her cocoon. No children could catch her in a jar there.

That night, Katie had bad dreams. She dreamed about cats and birds and spiders and children. There were lots of scary things out there in the world. Her cocoon was a safe place.

“I can stay in my cocoon forever,” Katie said to herself. “I will stay in my cocoon forever.”

The next day, her friends came back and flew around her cocoon again. They wanted her to come out. They wanted her to play in the sunshine, and ride on the breeze, and rest on a shady branch, and sip nectar from the flowers.

But Katie was scared.

“I’m too scared to come out,” she told her friends. “I’m safe in my cocoon. Nothing can hurt me in here. I’m going to stay in here forever.”

Her friends were very sad. They wished Katie would come out of her cocoon so she could see how beautiful the world was.

When Katie woke up the next morning she felt sad. She wanted to see her friends. She wanted to play in the sunshine, and ride on the breeze, and rest on a shady tree branch with them. She wanted to find out what nectar tasted like.

But she was still scared to leave her cocoon.

Suddenly, Katie heard someone crying for help. It sounded like her friend Jenny.

“Help me! Help me! Somebody please help me!” Jenny shouted.

Katie didn’t think about cats. She didn’t think about birds. She didn’t think about spiders. She didn’t think about children. She thought about her friend Jenny.

She spread both of her wings and burst out of her cocoon, flying toward her friend’s voice.

There was a spider’s web stretched across two small branches at the top of Katie’s tree.

Jenny was stuck in the middle of the web. The spider was crawling up the web toward her. The spider was hungry.

“Somebody help me!” Jenny shouted again. She was crying.

Katie flew toward the spider. She wasn’t scared. She was angry. She wasn’t going to let the spider eat her friend!

“Stop it!” She yelled. “Jenny’s my friend! You can’t eat her!”

The spider looked up and saw the yellow patches on Katie’s blue wings. They looked like big, bright bird’s eyes.

The spider knew what birds were. They were hungry flying animals with sharp beaks, and they liked to eat spiders.

The spider ran away back down her web to hide under the tree leaves.

Katie flew down and helped Jenny out of the sticky spider web.

“Thank you, Katie,” Jenny said. They landed on a pretty yellow flower. Katie tasted the nectar. It was sweet and delicious.

“Weren’t you scared to leave your cocoon?” Jenny asked her.

“When I heard you calling for help I didn’t think about scary things like cats and birds and spiders and children,” Katie told her. “I thought about you. You’re my friend, and I wanted to help you. And I’m not scared anymore.”

Every day after that, Katie played with her friends. They rode on the breeze and sipped nectar from the flowers. When they got tired of flying, they rested together on a shady tree branch.

They saw cats. But the cats did not pounce on them.

They saw birds. But the birds did not try to eat them.

They saw children. But the children only pointed and said,

“Look at the pretty butterflies!” They did not try to catch them in glass jars.

And they saw spiders. But the spiders did not try to wrap them up in their webs. The spiders were scared of Katie.