Deep in the heart of the Emerald Glade, where the moss was thick as velvet and the trees whispered secrets to the wind, lived a small dragon named Zephyria, Zeffy for short. Zeffy was young—barely past her first century—and though her wings were as delicate as a spring leaf, she had yet to take to the skies.
One morning, while wandering through the dewdrop-laden grass, Zeffy noticed a tiny caterpillar standing upright on a bed of moss. It was striped in soft shades of green and gold, and smiled at her in greeting.
“Good morning,” Zeffy said, lowering her head to meet its gaze.
The caterpillar twitched its antennae. “Good morning, little dragon.”
Zeffy chuckled. “Little? Compared to you, I’m a giant!”
The caterpillar smiled again. “And compared to the great dragons of old, you are but a wisp of wind.”
Zeffy sighed, resting her chin on the cool ground. “I wish I could fly. Dragons in stories always soar across the sky, but my wings aren’t strong enough yet.”
The caterpillar swayed thoughtfully. “I cannot fly either—not yet. But I will soon.”
Zeffy’s emerald eyes widened. “You? How?”
“I will change,” said the caterpillar simply. “I will wrap myself in silk and sleep, and when I wake, I will have wings.”
Zeffy tilted her head. “But how will you know what to do? How will you know if you can fly?”
“I will trust that I was meant to,” the caterpillar replied.
The words echoed in Zeffy’s mind long after the caterpillar disappeared into its cocoon. Days passed, then weeks. The cocoon remained unchanged, tucked safely beneath the moss. Zeffy visited it every morning, whispering encouragement to the silent bundle of silk.
Then, one crisp dawn, it happened. The cocoon trembled, split, and out crawled a butterfly—its wings shimmering like golden sunlight through leaves. The caterpillar had been transformed!
Zeffy gasped as the new butterfly stretched, testing the air. Then, with no hesitation, it took flight—rising into the sky on gossamer wings, free.
Zeffy felt a flicker in her own heart, like the wind stirring beneath her wings. She turned toward the open sky.
She would fly free, too, she realized. Just as she was meant to do.