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G'day folks - I came across this marvellous story recently and would like
to share it with you - such wonderful imagery and symbolism from
indigenous mythology (dreamtime) for the role of butterflies in Open
Space - I couldn't resist passing it on....enjoy.<br>
Brendan<br>
in warm and sun-filled Australia<br><br>
<br>
<b>Birth of the Butterflies<br>
</b><i>An Australian Aboriginal Dreamtime Story<br>
</i> <br>
When the world was young, the birds and animals had a common language and
there was no death. No creature had any experience of its mystery, until
one day a young cockatoo fell from a tree and broke its neck. The birds
and animals could not wake it, and a meeting of the wise ones decided
that the spirits had taken back the bird to change it into another
form.<br><br>
Everyone thought this was a reasonable explanation, but to prove the
theory the leaders called for volunteers who would imitate the dead
cockatoo by going up into the sky for a whole winter. During this time,
they would not be allowed to see, hear, smell or taste anything. In the
spring they were to return to earth to relate their experiences to the
others. The caterpillars offered to try this experiment, and went up in
the sky into a huge cloud.<br>
<br>
On the first warm day of spring a pair of excited dragonflies told the
gathering that the caterpillars were returning with new bodies. Soon the
dragonflies led back into the camp a great pageant of white, yellow, red,
blue, green creatures – the first butterflies, and proof that the spirits
had changed the caterpillars’ bodies into another form.<br>
<br>
They clustered in large groups on the trees and bushes, and everything
looked so gay and colourful that the wise ones decided this was a good
and happy thing that had happened, and decreed that it must always be so.
Since then caterpillars always spend winter hidden in cocoons, preparing
for their dramatic change into one of spring’s most beautiful
symbols.<br>
<br>
<br><br>
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