Beatrice the Butterfly: A Covid-19 Story for Children

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Remembering what makes life magical.

Once there was a butterfly named Beatrice.

Beatrice had the most extraordinary dots. But that wasn’t the only thing that was special about Beatrice. Beatrice had wings and she loved to flutter them. When Beatrice fluttered her wings the most amazing thing happened – she flew! She flew high, she flew low. She flew wherever she wanted to go.

One day, Beatrice’s Mommy told her she had to stop flying. Beatrice didn’t understand.

“But I love to fly!” she protested.

“Yes,” Beatrice’s mommy said, “I also love flying, but there are some butterflies who are getting very, very, sick and the only way to stop that from happening is to give our wings a rest.”

So Beatrice listened. She stopped fluttering. Instead, Beatrice and her mommy sat.

Her mommy showed her new things, different things. Sometimes they would sit side by side and just move their wings very slowly. Other times they studied their dots. Beatrice had never noticed how beautiful her mommy’s wings were! Some days Beatrice longed to fly, she missed her friends and seeing the world.

Then one day her mommy said, "It’s almost time to fly again. Soon. Not yet. But we need to get ready. When we do fly there will be rules, places you can go and places you can’t.”

Beatrice didn’t know how to feel. She was a bit excited. She had been waiting for this day. But she was also scared. She was used to the slow fluttering now. In fact, she had come to like it.

“Mommy, I’m not so sure I want to fly again,” Beatrice said.

“I know honey, me too,” said her mommy. Then her mommy fluttered a little closer to her.

“Shall I tell you a secret?” she asked.

“Yes,” said Beatrice.

“You didn’t always know how to fly,” her mommy said. “In fact, you didn’t start out as a butterfly. Once you were a caterpillar. You built yourself a cocoon, you went inside, it was while you were hidden away that you became who you are today. Your daddy and I waited a long time for you to grow your wings and dots and practice fluttering. Now shall I tell you the real secret?”

Beatrice nodded her best butterfly yes.

“Sometimes our cocoon is invisible. Sometimes we go inside to grow, and sometimes our wings change; but no matter what, the you inside of you is here, with your special dots. Wherever you are, wherever you go, you are the Beatrice that God created, and that is what makes life magical. Not the flying or the fluttering, but you being you. Which means sometimes we fly, and sometimes we sit. But all the time we grow. Don’t worry about the new world. As soon as you are used to how it is, it will change again. So best to just get really good at being you. In your cocoon, out of your cocoon, flapping, fluttering, flying or still."

"Okay," Beatrice said. “But what if I forget?”

“That's what your dots are for! Whenever you get that worried feeling inside just look at your dots, they will whisper to you – ‘you are Beatrice, God gave you those dots to remind you that you’re special, to remind you that you have a spark of Him inside, that you are the most extraordinary butterfly!’ As long as you remember that, wherever you are whatever you do, you’ll be okay, because you’ll be you.”

Beatrice thought for a moment, then she looked at her dots, she looked at her mommy and she gave a gentle flutter.

She was Beatrice, God’s special butterfly. She didn’t know what she would do tomorrow or where she would be, but she did know who she was, and that was all she needed.

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