'Please tell us a story mom! 'asked the four little faires.
Their mother, the Seasons Fairy, looked at the four eager faces looking at her expectantly: the Spring Fairy, the Summer Fairy, the Autumn Fairy and the Winter Fairy.
Ok,here's one you'd like'', she began.'' But each of you must give me your own ending to this story.''
''Once upon a time there was a gardener who tended a lovely garden full of all kinds of beautiful and fragrant flowers.
All kinds of little creatures frequented this garden, attracted by thescent of all those flowers there during spring and summer time.
Many beautiful butterflies flew among the flowerbeds and the gardener would amuse himself by watching them flutter by. He was fond of butterflies and whenever one that was pleasing to the eye caught his fancy , he would photograph it or carefully catch itto take home and examine closely.
Most of the ones he caught he'd release after a day or two but occasionally, he'd keep one that he particularly liked in a specialet cage he had invented specifically for keeping butterfies in. Those never survived past a week or so and after they dropped dead he would carefully treat them to a special saline solution and then put them on display in a glass case where he kept his considerable butterfly collection.
One day he saw a colourful butterfly sitting on one of his flowers. She looked like a tropical butterfly, for he had never seen the likes of her, with a pattern and color combination that made his heart sing with joy.
He immediately caught her and took her home. But this time, upon examining her colorful wings more closely than usually, he realized something he had never noticed before: the butterfly had a face, eyes, nose , mouth and all. The gardener found that rather disturbing at first, for how can you treat to a saline solution and pin into your collection a creature that has a face that looks almost human?
Then another strange thing happened.
The gardener heard the butterfly talking to him in a human, albeit rather shrill voice:
''What are you going to do to me, gardener?''
'Now its your turn,' said the Seasons Fairy. 'Each one of you must give me your own version of how thisstory continues.'
'Thats easy, said the Winter Fairy.
''What are you going to do to me, gardener?'' asked the butterfy.
I am going to add you to my famous collection , answered the gardener. You'd be my centerpiece, my most exquisite exhibit.''
The butterfly sighed with pleasure at the great honor she was presented with and gladly gave her life as a sacrifice to science . Eventually the gardener sold his collection to a museum, got lots of money for it , became rich and moved to a mansion with gardens and gardeners and servants attending to his every need.''
''Your story is so sad'', interrupted her the Autumn Fairy. ''Here's a much better one''
'What are you going to do to me, gardener?'' asked the butterfy.
He barely had time to finish his sentence when the clever creature escaped his notice and flew out of the window. She flew away from his garden and learnt her lesson well, never ever to trust gardeners with beautiful flowers again for as long as she lived. She lived a long and happy life in the meadows and enjoyed every bit of her freedom, for she had almost lost it once''
'Now, that's not how it happened', said the Spring Fairy. 'Here's my version:
''What are you going to do to me, gardener?'' asked the butterfy.
''I wanted to add you to my collection at first, because you're so beautiful, answered the gardener. But now I've changed my mind. Here's some sugar and honey to eat and after you've eaten you are free to go. But before you do, let me get a picture of you so that I get to remember your beautiful colours.''
And so it happened. She ate her treat, he took her picture, they played for a while and then she flew to freedom and to other beautiful adventures, whereas he continued tending to his flowers and collecting more butterflies.''
'I think I've got the best story of all, said mellow Summer Fairy, ''because it's good for both the gardener and the butterfly. Here's what happened:'
'What are you going to do to me, gardener?'' asked the butterfy.
'I'm going to keep you with me for ever, said the gardener. I don't want you to have the fate of all the other butterflies , so I'll surround my garden with a special net that will keep you here for ever, safe from predatory birds and out of harm's way. You'll get to enjoy the beautiful flowers of my garden and I'll get to admire your colorful wings every day. No other butterfly will ever enter my garden, you will be my one and only pet butterfly and, in return, no other creature will get to enjoy your beauty either''.
'Your story sucks too,'said the Autumn Fairy. 'Eventually she'll get bored to death being cooped up in that caged garden and he'll regret never seeing any more beautiful butterflies, which is his favorite pastime. Mother, you tell us, what was the real ending to the story?'
'Here's what really happened, ' smiled the older Fairy.
'What are you going to do to me, gardener?'' asked the butterfy.
'I dont know,' said the gardener. 'I like you too much to be able to part with you for ever, I wonna feed you and play with you and have you grace my garden with your beauty but I also love you too much to let you die cooped up in here or be deprived of your precious freedom'.
'And I love tasting your treats and fluttering among all those nice flowers in your garden which is the most beautiful I've ever seen. But I also understand that you love tending to your beautiful garden and admiring the beauty of all those creatures that, like me, love frequenting it.
So what are we to do?'
The gardener was deep in thought for a while.
I know what we'll do, he said finally. You are free to go wherever you please, but I want you to remember that my garden will always be a safe and nice place for you to enjoy whenever you wish.'
And so it was.
The butterfly was free to fly wherever it pleased her, but she found the gardener's place such a beautiful, safe and full of treats haven, that going anywhere else paled in comparison. He , in turn, tended to his garden, admiring and occasionally feeding all the beautiful creatures, birds and butterflies and the like that his flowers attracted. His butterfly, however, was always his favorite, in whose company his heart rejoiced and his mind rested.
And they both lived happily ever after, rejoicing in the sweet knowledge that true love and friendship can only thrive in freedom of spirit and soul''
The End
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