How the Butterfly Got Its Wings” Mairyn McGilvray

HOW THE BUTTERFLY GOT ITS WINGS

BY : M A I RY N M C G I LV R AY

Many years ago in a little village there lived a little girl who could hear all life’s spirits.

The willows would whisper her secrets and the birds sing her stories. She heard the cries of the

wounded buffalo. The fish would gargle her wisdom. Her dogma was one of respect towards all

creatures. As she grew, her gift became known throughout the land and she was given the name

Kiwidinok, woman of the wind, because she knew why it blew.

One day Kiwidinok was walking through a meadow and as she set her foot upon the

ground she heard a screaming. Kiwidinok moved fast but it was too late; she had crushed a

caterpillar. She knelt to the ground and gently cradled the creature in her hands. She felt

its spirit fluttering and wept bitterly. Kiwidinok was overcome by her hypocrisy for she had

taken a life. The wind heard her cries and decided to spare the little caterpillar from its fate.

Kiwidinok shrieked with joy as the creature began to move. Although no harm was permanent,

she dedicated herself to earning forgiveness for her mistake. She went to the river and the fish

gave her their scales. She went to the forest and the trees gave her their thinnest branches. She

looked up to the sky and the eagles gave her their feathers. With the gifts she had been given

Kiwidinok fashioned two tiny wings, light as air and thinner than a blade of grass. She took her

creation to the meadow where she cried out to caterpillar and caterpillar crawled to her. She

took the creature into her hands and said, “I have crushed you under my feet but now you will fly

above my head.” And the wind blew and the sky opened; the caterpillar was given its wings. As

he flew away, Kiwidinok heard the earth singing in harmony; new life had come to the earth.