1 00:00:08,720 --> 00:00:15,640 Speaker 1: Hello friends, and welcome to sleep Tight Stories. A short 2 00:00:15,680 --> 00:00:20,360 Speaker 1: message for grown ups. If you get value from our stories, 3 00:00:20,920 --> 00:00:27,600 Speaker 1: please consider subscribing to sleep Type Premium. With sleep Type Premium, 4 00:00:27,760 --> 00:00:32,960 Speaker 1: you receive four stories per week, plus super long sleep sounds, 5 00:00:33,720 --> 00:00:41,240 Speaker 1: guided meditations, music for sleep, and more. Visit sleep Typepremium 6 00:00:41,280 --> 00:00:45,880 Speaker 1: dot com to subscribe. A link can also be found 7 00:00:45,920 --> 00:01:08,320 Speaker 1: in our show notes Thank you. The story of the 8 00:01:08,360 --> 00:01:17,440 Speaker 1: small green Caterpillar and the Beautiful white Butterfly In a 9 00:01:17,520 --> 00:01:21,360 Speaker 1: kitchen garden at the rear of an old brick house 10 00:01:21,800 --> 00:01:26,959 Speaker 1: in a country town stood long rows of stately corn, 11 00:01:27,920 --> 00:01:33,000 Speaker 1: whose shining green blades glistened in the sun and rustled 12 00:01:33,000 --> 00:01:39,279 Speaker 1: if a passing breeze spoke to them. Near at hand 13 00:01:39,400 --> 00:01:43,640 Speaker 1: were some thickly leaved currant bushes, which looked as if 14 00:01:43,680 --> 00:01:47,640 Speaker 1: they had been so busy bearing bunches of juicy red 15 00:01:47,720 --> 00:01:51,639 Speaker 1: currants that they had found no time to grow tall 16 00:01:51,880 --> 00:01:59,040 Speaker 1: like their neighbors the corn. Just across the garden path 17 00:01:59,280 --> 00:02:04,320 Speaker 1: was a fine bed of feathery asparagus, separated from the 18 00:02:04,320 --> 00:02:08,240 Speaker 1: rest of the garden by a low wooden border about 19 00:02:08,240 --> 00:02:13,640 Speaker 1: two inches high. I do not know as to whether 20 00:02:13,800 --> 00:02:17,160 Speaker 1: or not it was this exclusive life they lived that 21 00:02:17,280 --> 00:02:21,760 Speaker 1: made them so lacking in strength, But they were swayed 22 00:02:21,880 --> 00:02:26,840 Speaker 1: by the slightest breath of air. Now this way and 23 00:02:27,080 --> 00:02:35,160 Speaker 1: now that. In the same garden were many other vegetables, 24 00:02:35,840 --> 00:02:40,640 Speaker 1: and towering far above them all were some giant plum trees. 25 00:02:42,880 --> 00:02:46,079 Speaker 1: At least they seemed like giants to the potato vine 26 00:02:46,160 --> 00:02:50,320 Speaker 1: and tomato plants near by, both of whom were of 27 00:02:50,400 --> 00:02:55,560 Speaker 1: a creeping nature, and had a great admiration for anybody 28 00:02:55,919 --> 00:03:03,519 Speaker 1: or anything that was higher than themselves. The young potato 29 00:03:03,720 --> 00:03:06,239 Speaker 1: vines used to look up from the top of their 30 00:03:06,320 --> 00:03:10,440 Speaker 1: hills and wonder if they would ever get as near 31 00:03:10,520 --> 00:03:14,000 Speaker 1: to the sky as the branches of the plum tree 32 00:03:14,120 --> 00:03:20,160 Speaker 1: seemed to be silly things. They did not know that 33 00:03:20,240 --> 00:03:23,320 Speaker 1: their value lay in there keeping close to the ground 34 00:03:24,120 --> 00:03:28,840 Speaker 1: and bearing as many fine, smooth skinned potatoes as possible. 35 00:03:30,040 --> 00:03:33,640 Speaker 1: That is, the younger vines did not know this important fact. 36 00:03:36,520 --> 00:03:41,280 Speaker 1: Our story, however, is not about the potato vines, but 37 00:03:41,400 --> 00:03:45,880 Speaker 1: of something very wonderful which took place upon the outside 38 00:03:46,000 --> 00:03:52,160 Speaker 1: leaf of a round green cabbage head, which stood, along 39 00:03:52,280 --> 00:03:56,680 Speaker 1: with the other cabbage heads, in one corner of the garden. 40 00:03:59,840 --> 00:04:02,840 Speaker 1: I don't believe you would have understood much of what 41 00:04:03,040 --> 00:04:06,760 Speaker 1: was going on if you had been there, anymore than 42 00:04:06,840 --> 00:04:10,200 Speaker 1: did the happy faced little woman who owned the garden. 43 00:04:12,720 --> 00:04:17,600 Speaker 1: She thought. She loved her garden, every tree and shrub 44 00:04:18,120 --> 00:04:22,280 Speaker 1: and herb that grew in it. Still, she spent a 45 00:04:22,320 --> 00:04:25,880 Speaker 1: great deal more time looking at the swift flowing river 46 00:04:26,839 --> 00:04:30,440 Speaker 1: and the stretch of hills beyond than she did at 47 00:04:30,440 --> 00:04:38,320 Speaker 1: her cabbage heads. She spent hours each day poring over 48 00:04:38,360 --> 00:04:44,000 Speaker 1: her books, while the most wonderful things were happening all 49 00:04:44,040 --> 00:04:49,880 Speaker 1: around her, under her very nose, as it were, or rather, 50 00:04:50,040 --> 00:04:56,080 Speaker 1: I should say, perhaps under her very feet, things far 51 00:04:56,160 --> 00:05:04,320 Speaker 1: more interesting than her books could possibly have been. Among 52 00:05:04,440 --> 00:05:07,960 Speaker 1: these wonderful things of which her garden could have told 53 00:05:08,000 --> 00:05:12,680 Speaker 1: her was the life story of a little green caterpillar 54 00:05:13,600 --> 00:05:17,520 Speaker 1: whose home was on the outside leaf of a large 55 00:05:17,839 --> 00:05:24,200 Speaker 1: green cabbage head. He was not an inch long and 56 00:05:24,360 --> 00:05:29,880 Speaker 1: not much bigger around than a good sized broomstraw. Yet 57 00:05:29,920 --> 00:05:33,120 Speaker 1: he was an honest little fellow in his way, and 58 00:05:33,279 --> 00:05:37,200 Speaker 1: spent most of his time crawling about on his cabbage 59 00:05:37,240 --> 00:05:42,000 Speaker 1: leaf and nibbling holes in it, which you know, is 60 00:05:42,080 --> 00:05:47,080 Speaker 1: about all a caterpillar can be expected to do. The 61 00:05:47,120 --> 00:05:52,320 Speaker 1: great beautiful sun high up in the sky sent his 62 00:05:52,480 --> 00:05:55,960 Speaker 1: bright rays of light down to warm the little caterpillar 63 00:05:56,800 --> 00:06:01,039 Speaker 1: just as regularly, and was seemingly just as much love 64 00:06:01,720 --> 00:06:05,720 Speaker 1: as he sent them to make the thousand wavelets of 65 00:06:05,800 --> 00:06:11,520 Speaker 1: the swift flowing river sparkle and gleam like diamonds, or 66 00:06:11,560 --> 00:06:15,160 Speaker 1: as he sent them down to rest in calm, still 67 00:06:15,279 --> 00:06:24,160 Speaker 1: sunshine on the quiet hilltops beyond. The little green Caterpillar's 68 00:06:24,240 --> 00:06:29,200 Speaker 1: life was a very narrow one. He had never been 69 00:06:29,279 --> 00:06:33,120 Speaker 1: away from his cabbage leaf. In fact, he did not 70 00:06:33,400 --> 00:06:36,760 Speaker 1: know that there was anything else in the world except 71 00:06:37,480 --> 00:06:43,080 Speaker 1: cabbage leaves. He might have learned something of the beautiful, 72 00:06:43,240 --> 00:06:48,240 Speaker 1: silvery moon, or the shining stars, or of the glorious 73 00:06:48,360 --> 00:06:54,320 Speaker 1: sun itself if he had ever looked up, but he 74 00:06:54,400 --> 00:07:00,240 Speaker 1: never did. Therefore, the whole world was a big cabe 75 00:07:00,320 --> 00:07:05,640 Speaker 1: leaf to him, and of his life consisted in nibbling 76 00:07:06,000 --> 00:07:12,560 Speaker 1: as much of the cabbage leaf as possible. So you 77 00:07:12,640 --> 00:07:18,280 Speaker 1: can easily imagine his surprise when one day a dainty 78 00:07:18,520 --> 00:07:24,480 Speaker 1: white butterfly settled down beside him and began laying small 79 00:07:24,800 --> 00:07:31,360 Speaker 1: green eggs. The little caterpillar had never before seen anything 80 00:07:31,640 --> 00:07:36,240 Speaker 1: half so beautiful as the wings of the dainty white butterfly, 81 00:07:37,480 --> 00:07:41,520 Speaker 1: and when she had finished laying her eggs and flew off. He, 82 00:07:41,960 --> 00:07:46,200 Speaker 1: for the first time in his whole life, lifted his 83 00:07:46,360 --> 00:07:50,440 Speaker 1: head toward the blue sky that he might watch the 84 00:07:50,520 --> 00:07:56,120 Speaker 1: quick motion of her wings. She was soon beyond the 85 00:07:56,200 --> 00:08:00,880 Speaker 1: tallest leaves of the tomato plants, above the feathery tips 86 00:08:00,920 --> 00:08:05,200 Speaker 1: of the finest faragus, even higher than the plum trees. 87 00:08:06,520 --> 00:08:09,720 Speaker 1: He watched her until she became a mere speck in 88 00:08:09,800 --> 00:08:16,360 Speaker 1: the air, and at last vanished from his sight. He 89 00:08:16,440 --> 00:08:21,560 Speaker 1: then sighed and turned again to his cabbage leaf. As 90 00:08:21,560 --> 00:08:25,040 Speaker 1: he did so, his eyes rested on the twenty small 91 00:08:25,280 --> 00:08:29,440 Speaker 1: green eggs, which were no larger than the heads of 92 00:08:29,480 --> 00:08:36,959 Speaker 1: a pin. Did she leave these for me to care for? 93 00:08:37,880 --> 00:08:43,560 Speaker 1: He said to himself. Then came the perplexing question. How 94 00:08:43,600 --> 00:08:50,040 Speaker 1: could he, the crawling caterpillar, take care of baby butterflies. 95 00:08:52,280 --> 00:08:55,400 Speaker 1: He could not teach them anything except to crawl and 96 00:08:55,559 --> 00:09:00,480 Speaker 1: nibble cabbage leaves. If they were like their beautiful mother, 97 00:09:01,000 --> 00:09:07,520 Speaker 1: would they not soon fly far beyond his reach? This 98 00:09:07,760 --> 00:09:12,600 Speaker 1: last thought troubled him a great deal. Still, he watched 99 00:09:12,679 --> 00:09:17,720 Speaker 1: over them tenderly until they should hatch. He could at 100 00:09:17,800 --> 00:09:20,520 Speaker 1: least tell them of how beautiful their mother had been, 101 00:09:21,200 --> 00:09:23,920 Speaker 1: and could show them where to fly that they might 102 00:09:24,000 --> 00:09:30,839 Speaker 1: find her. He often pictured to himself how they would 103 00:09:30,880 --> 00:09:36,920 Speaker 1: look twenty dainty little butterflies fluttering about him on his 104 00:09:37,120 --> 00:09:40,719 Speaker 1: cabbage leaf for a time, and then flying off to 105 00:09:40,840 --> 00:09:43,520 Speaker 1: the blue sky to visit the stars with their mother. 106 00:09:45,760 --> 00:09:50,120 Speaker 1: He loved the great sun very dearly now, because it 107 00:09:50,240 --> 00:09:56,800 Speaker 1: sent its rays down to warm the tiny eggs. One 108 00:09:56,880 --> 00:10:01,040 Speaker 1: day he awoke from his afternoon nap just in time 109 00:10:01,160 --> 00:10:06,640 Speaker 1: to see a most remarkable sight. What do you think 110 00:10:06,760 --> 00:10:13,600 Speaker 1: was happening? One after another? The small green eggs were 111 00:10:13,640 --> 00:10:19,040 Speaker 1: breaking open, and out were crawling. What do you suppose 112 00:10:20,120 --> 00:10:29,000 Speaker 1: little white butterflies? No, nothing of the kind. Little green 113 00:10:29,559 --> 00:10:36,640 Speaker 1: caterpillars were creeping out of each shell. Their foster father, 114 00:10:37,000 --> 00:10:40,560 Speaker 1: as he had learned to call himself, could hardly believe 115 00:10:40,679 --> 00:10:47,080 Speaker 1: his own eyes. Yet there they were, wriggling and squirming, 116 00:10:48,360 --> 00:10:54,880 Speaker 1: very much like the young angleworms in the ground below. Well, well, well, 117 00:10:54,960 --> 00:10:58,160 Speaker 1: said he to himself. Who would ever dream that the 118 00:10:58,280 --> 00:11:05,360 Speaker 1: children of that beautiful creeture would be mere caterpillars? Strange 119 00:11:05,360 --> 00:11:09,080 Speaker 1: as it seemed to him, there was no denying the fact, 120 00:11:09,880 --> 00:11:12,400 Speaker 1: and his duty was to teach them how to crawl 121 00:11:12,440 --> 00:11:18,560 Speaker 1: about and how to nibble cabbage leaves. Poor things, he 122 00:11:18,679 --> 00:11:21,360 Speaker 1: used to say, as he moved among them. You will 123 00:11:21,400 --> 00:11:24,680 Speaker 1: never know the world of beauty in which your mother lived. 124 00:11:25,520 --> 00:11:28,959 Speaker 1: You will never be able to soar in the free air. 125 00:11:29,960 --> 00:11:32,760 Speaker 1: Your lives must be spent in creeping about on a 126 00:11:32,800 --> 00:11:35,920 Speaker 1: cabbage leaf and filling yourself full of it every day. 127 00:11:37,600 --> 00:11:47,480 Speaker 1: Poor things, poor things. The young caterpillars soon became so 128 00:11:47,679 --> 00:11:54,120 Speaker 1: experienced that they no longer needed his care. Feeling very 129 00:11:54,200 --> 00:11:58,000 Speaker 1: tired and sleepy, he decided one day to make for 130 00:11:58,160 --> 00:12:04,160 Speaker 1: himself a bed and go to sleep. He was soon 131 00:12:04,600 --> 00:12:08,840 Speaker 1: softly wrapped from head to toe in the curious covering 132 00:12:08,920 --> 00:12:15,320 Speaker 1: he had made, and then came a long, long sleep 133 00:12:16,280 --> 00:12:21,960 Speaker 1: of three weeks or more. When at last he woke up, 134 00:12:22,640 --> 00:12:25,760 Speaker 1: he began to work his head out of his covering. 135 00:12:27,440 --> 00:12:31,760 Speaker 1: Soon his whole body was free, and he began to 136 00:12:31,840 --> 00:12:38,960 Speaker 1: breathe the fresh air and feel the warm sunshine. He 137 00:12:39,120 --> 00:12:42,480 Speaker 1: was sure that something had happened to him, though he 138 00:12:42,559 --> 00:12:46,840 Speaker 1: could not tell what. He turned his head this way 139 00:12:47,720 --> 00:12:53,520 Speaker 1: and that, and at last caught sight of his own sides. 140 00:12:55,480 --> 00:13:04,400 Speaker 1: What do you think? He saw wings, beautiful white wings, 141 00:13:05,120 --> 00:13:10,760 Speaker 1: and his body was white too. The long sleep had 142 00:13:10,880 --> 00:13:18,360 Speaker 1: changed him into a butterfly. He began to slowly stretch 143 00:13:18,400 --> 00:13:22,720 Speaker 1: his wings. They were so new he could hardly believe 144 00:13:22,800 --> 00:13:27,240 Speaker 1: that they were part of himself. The more he stretched them, 145 00:13:27,679 --> 00:13:33,960 Speaker 1: the more beautiful they became, and soon they quivered and 146 00:13:34,160 --> 00:13:41,360 Speaker 1: fluttered as gracefully as the other butterfly wings did. Just 147 00:13:41,480 --> 00:13:46,120 Speaker 1: at this moment, a strong fresh breeze swept over the garden, 148 00:13:47,040 --> 00:13:51,280 Speaker 1: and before he had time to refuse, the new butterfly 149 00:13:51,520 --> 00:13:55,840 Speaker 1: was lifted off the cabbage leaf and was dancing through 150 00:13:55,880 --> 00:14:00,679 Speaker 1: the air, settling down now on a bright flower, and 151 00:14:00,800 --> 00:14:05,400 Speaker 1: now on a nodding blade of grass, then up and 152 00:14:05,520 --> 00:14:10,560 Speaker 1: off again. He rejoiced in his freedom for a time, 153 00:14:11,080 --> 00:14:14,520 Speaker 1: but soon came the longing to try his wings in 154 00:14:14,600 --> 00:14:21,920 Speaker 1: the upper sunshine. Before attempting the unknown journey. However, he 155 00:14:22,080 --> 00:14:26,240 Speaker 1: flew back to the round green cabbage head on which 156 00:14:26,240 --> 00:14:32,600 Speaker 1: he had lived so long. There were the twenty small 157 00:14:32,680 --> 00:14:38,320 Speaker 1: green caterpillars still creeping slowly about and filling themselves with 158 00:14:38,480 --> 00:14:42,360 Speaker 1: cabbage leaf. This was all they knew how to do, 159 00:14:43,240 --> 00:14:49,760 Speaker 1: and this they did faithfully. Never mind, little caterpillars, said 160 00:14:49,800 --> 00:14:53,760 Speaker 1: the new butterfly, as he hovered over them. Keep at 161 00:14:53,760 --> 00:14:56,880 Speaker 1: your work. The cabbage leaf gives you food, and the 162 00:14:56,960 --> 00:15:01,160 Speaker 1: crawling makes you strong. By and by you too shall 163 00:15:01,200 --> 00:15:07,000 Speaker 1: be butterflies, and go free and into the great upper world. 164 00:15:10,640 --> 00:15:13,960 Speaker 1: Having said this in so low a tone of voice 165 00:15:14,120 --> 00:15:16,160 Speaker 1: that you would not have heard him had you been 166 00:15:16,240 --> 00:15:22,240 Speaker 1: standing close by, he flew far away, so far that 167 00:15:22,360 --> 00:15:25,840 Speaker 1: neither you nor I could have followed him with our eyes. 168 00:15:28,200 --> 00:15:31,800 Speaker 1: As for the happy faced little woman, she did not 169 00:15:32,080 --> 00:15:35,400 Speaker 1: even know that he had been near her, or her 170 00:15:35,440 --> 00:15:40,080 Speaker 1: eyes were fastened on her book as usual.