The Butterfly: A Fable [Paperback]

Jay Singh (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 6, 2006

The story of a caterpillar who leaves the Silk Palace, the self-contained world of caterpillars, in search of her food plant - the very special plant that will help her become a butterfly.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

    Native Montrealer Jay Singh is the author of two novellas, The Laughing Walland and The Immortal Taj. He publishes non-fiction in magazines and journals throughout South Korea and is an editor for the Seoul Classified. Singh teaches kindergarten in Seoul.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Excerpt 1

    The turtle slowly turned his gaze to her. He looked at her from the corner of his eye and asked, "You are in search? Of your butterfly?"

    "Yes!"

    "Oh my," said the turtle. "There it is. Nothing. Nothing with the potential of being something."

    "What are you yapping about?" she asked. "Sheesh! You turtles-you're so annoying with your philosobees!"

    "Philosophies," corrected the turtle.

    "Whatever..."

    And at that moment the turtle, without an explanation, began to veer.

    "Where are you going!" demanded the brave little caterpillar.

    And, for some reason or another, the turtle spoke quicker and with a lot more life. "Could be days before I finish what I have to do."

    "Days!"

    "I am a slow worker," said the turtle. "Besides, I did not know you were going somewhere."

    "Somewhere?"

    "Most go nowhere," continued the turtle. "They go many places but they never really go anywhere. But...but the one who travels within is always going somewhere. And a turtle, by virtue, by constitution, and by all that is sacred, must help all those creatures going somewhere." And then he proudly recited part of the turtle's constitution, as though reading the words from a scroll in his mind:

    "We turtles of the world, in order to form a more perfect forest, insure good luck to all seekers in search of themselves in the form of assistance no matter what that assistance may be so long as that assistance does not infringe on the happiness or welfare of another seeker."

Excerpt 2

    "What are you thinking of?" asked the painter, who had been studying her face for a while now, noticing the strain in her lips, the wetness of her eyes, and how she happened to be missing all the masterpieces about her.

    "Nothing," answered the brave little caterpillar, shaking her head, suddenly snatched from her thoughts.

    "Right," said the painter, staring at her frown. "Well 'nothing' seems to be anchoring your soul down like a sack of bricks."

    "Nothing," she said curtly, picking up the pace.

    "No room for art," mumbled the painter, "in the bitter heart."

Excerpt 3

    "Well...you've got to find your food plant," said the painter. "You've got to try as many plants as you can, and, as I've been told, through the process of elimination, you'll come to know your food plant, and, I've also been told, once you've found it, you'll never want to stop eating. It will be like food from heaven. But eventually you'll stop; and guess why?"

    The brave little caterpillar shrugged her shoulders.

    "Because you'll feel the changing within," answered the painter.

    "The changing within?"

    "Oh yeah. It will do things to you. Strange but good things. You'll feel a huge tiredness sweep over you like night over day. And you'll do your very best to find yourself a hiding spot where no bird or predator will ever find you. Then you'll spin yourself one of them chrysalis things, and, once that's all taken care of, you'll fall asleepÉand when you wake up, when you wake up from your long, long, long slumber, you'll wake up a butterfly."

    The brave little caterpillar let out a little laugh laced with doubt.

    The painter, placing his hand on her shoulder, nodded his sincerity.

    "Just find your food plant," said the brave little caterpillar, her voice full of disbelief. "You make things sound so easy."

    "They are," said the painter. "It's you caterpillars who have complicated everything."

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Trafford Publishing (July 6, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1553694066
• ISBN-13: 978-1553694069
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 4.8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,468,988 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Really fun story, November 18, 2002

By 

"mikepila74" (Seoul, Korea) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Butterfly: A Fable (Paperback)

Mickey Mouse, Harry Potter, Shrek--not really; but this fable would make a great Walt Disney flic! My children can't stop reading it. A real page turner!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful tale that makes you think, November 11, 2002

By 

Byron (New York, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Butterfly: A Fable (Paperback)

The author has the heart of a child! He made me realize how absurd the rat race is and how frantic life has become where we hardly have time to know our children, our friends, ourselves. How we forfeit our chance to become a real butterfly for a mere butterfly suit in our retirement. Makes you wonder if our reason for being is to jump headlong in a race our parents ignorantly put us in or to take a step back and set off on a journey of discovery? To race or to discover, that, my friends, is the question! Really enjoyed this book and you will, too.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Truly Inspirational, November 12, 2002

By 

Erin (Vancouver, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Butterfly: A Fable (Paperback)

I never knew caterpillars had to find a specific plant to turn into a butterfly. That's amazing to me. I always thought they just ate leaves, twigs, peat moss, floor junk, or whatever. Maybe what a person does with his or her life is as important as the "food plant" is to the caterpillar. If the caterpillar doesn't take the time to find its food plant, it will never turn into a butterfly. Likewise, if a person doesn't take the time to discover his calling maybe his or her soul will never grow. I love the message that we're all here to grow and I especially loved how the author showed how the things we think are set up to help us (government, schools, corporations) are really there to distract us from our true calling. And the idea that smiles reveal the genuine soul is just a really nice idea. But it's true, isn't it? You can tell a lot by a smile. You can tell if a person is satisfied or dissatisfied with his or her life. The smile really is everything. And those who are dissatisfied are in fact "smile-holes" and like black holes swallow planets and stars, smile-holes swallow the happiness and joy out of everyone around them. Well, that's been my experience. In the end, I just loved this book! There is something really important being said here and I wish everyone would read it.