True
Story of Courage and Love
~David L.
Kuzminski~
Walking down a path through some woods in Georgia, I saw a water puddle
ahead on the path. I angled my direction to go around it on the part of
the path that wasn't covered by water and mud. As I reached the puddle, I
was suddenly attacked! Yet I did nothing for the attack was so
unpredictable and from a source so totally unexpected. I was startled as
well as unhurt, despite having been struck four or five times already. I
backed up a foot and my attacker stopped attacking me. Instead of
attacking more, he hovered in the air on graceful butterfly wings in front
of me. Had I been hurt I wouldn't have found it amusing, but I was unhurt,
it was funny, and I was laughing. After all, I was being attacked by a
butterfly!
Having stopped laughing, I took a step forward. My attacker rushed me
again. He rammed me in the chest with his head and body, striking me over
and over again with all his might, still to no avail. For a second time, I
retreated a step while my attacker relented in his attack. Yet again, I
tried moving forward. My attacker charged me again. I was rammed in the
chest over and over again. I wasn't sure what to do, other than to retreat
a third time. After all, it's just not everyday that one is attacked by a
butterfly. This time, though, I stepped back several paces to look the
situation over. My attacker moved back as well to land on the ground.
That's when I discovered why my attacker was charging me only moments
earlier. He had a mate and she was dying. She was beside the puddle where
he landed.
Sitting close beside her, he opened and closed his wings as if to fan
her. I could only admire the love and courage of that butterfly in his
concern for his mate. He had taken it upon himself to attack me for his
mate's sake, even though she was clearly dying and I was so large. He did
so just to give her those extra few precious moments of life, should I
have been careless enough to step on her. Now I knew why and what he was
fighting for. There was really only one option left for me. I carefully
made my way around the puddle to the other side of the path, though it was
only inches wide and extremely muddy. His courage in attacking something
thousands of times larger and heavier than himself just for his mate's
safety justified it. I couldn't do anything other than reward him by
walking on the more difficult side of the puddle. He had truly earned
those moments to be with her, undisturbed.
I left them in peace for those last few moments, cleaning the mud from
my boots when I later reached my car.
Since then, I've always tried to remember the courage of that butterfly
whenever I see huge obstacles facing me. I use that butterfly's courage as
an inspiration and to remind myself that good things are worth fighting
for.
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