The Caterpillar and His Umbrella

It was a sunny afternoon. The little Caterpillar had just woken up from his nap and was feeling a little bored at home. He looked out of the window and decided to go out and play. As he was about to walk out of the house, mother butterfly yelled from behind: “Baby, bring an umbrella…” Before she could finish, little Caterpillar already stepped out and closed the door behind him.

He marched on towards the garden, thinking to himself. “The sky is so clear. Why would it rain?” The little Caterpillar shrugged and increased his pace. He went farther and farther into the garden, away from his house.

Feeling satisfied by how far he had gone, he lay on the grass, planning to take a rest while basking under the sun. He proudly said: “See, it will not rain today. Fortunately, I didn’t bring an umbrella. Otherwise, it would be too troublesome.” He then closed his eyes to enjoy the peaceful surroundings.

As he was almost dozing off, he suddenly felt some chilly wind. He quickly opened his eyes and realised dark clouds were forming. “Oh dear, the dark clouds had blocked the sun. It might start raining any minute.”
Little Caterpillar thought to himself.

Worried that he might get all wet and fall sick, the little Caterpillar got up in a panic to find a place to shelter himself from the rain. He tried to crawl into a small hole in the ground but changed his mind as the rainwater could still seep in. Next, he found a plant to cover his head. But no, it was just too small. He hurriedly rushed around looking for alternative ways while checking the sky, hoping it will not rain before he finds a suitable place.

The sky became darker and darker. Eventually, the rain started to pour! Little Caterpillar scrambled and fell with his face down. Feeling dejected, he stood there in the same position for a while, wondering how wet he might get. Suddenly, it dawned onto him that he did not feel any raindrops on him. He was still not wet from the rain. Curiously, he lifted his head up and saw a giant leaf, like an umbrella, sheltering him from the rain.

“Are you ok?” the plant asked. Little Caterpillar looked around, trying to locate the sound and checking who was talking to him. The plant said, “Over here. I am the plant that is giving you shelter with my leave. My name is Darmera, the umbrella plant.”

“Oh hi, Darmera. Thank you so much for helping me.” Replied Little Caterpillar gratefully as he turned his head and saw Darmera. Darmera and little Caterpillar started to chat like good friends. They enjoyed each other’s company on a rainy afternoon.

As the wind blew, Little Caterpillar could smell a fragrant scent lingering in the air. “What nice sweet scent was that?” Little Caterpillar wondered to himself while babbling about his past adventures playing in the garden to Darmera.

After hours of jabbering, finally, the rain stopped. Little Caterpillar had to go home. He reluctantly said goodbye to Darmera, and they agreed to see each other again the following day.

The next morning, the little Caterpillar was excited to look for Darmera and quickly ran to the garden. However, he could not find her at the same spot. Darmera was gone. Instead, there was only one big flower.

The little Caterpillar felt disappointed, but many awful thoughts came to his mind at the same time. Did something terrible happen to Darmera? How did this big flower occupy the place of Darmera?

Little Caterpillar peeped at the big flower. The big flower did not look like a nasty flower. It gazed at the little Caterpillar and started to giggle. “Strangely, the sound of the laughter seemed exactly the same as Darmera!” The little Caterpillar exclaimed: “Are you the same Darmera I met yesterday?” The big flower nodded delightfully and said, “the rain yesterday made me grow up a lot!”

Little Caterpillar could not help but notice how beautiful Darmera’s flower was. “Wow, you have such beautiful flowers, Darmera. “Little Caterpillar said admiringly. “And the sweet scent was from your flowers.” Little Caterpillar thought to himself.

The Little Caterpillar spent many days with his friend, the big flower. Now that it became a beautiful flower, many friends came to visit. The bees, ants and ladybugs came by to play, occasionally the hummingbirds as well.

When autumn came, the weather became colder. Soon, winter will come, and the little Caterpillar and big flowers will rest. The big flower said enthusiastically,” Little Caterpillar, you must return to find me during the following spring. I will wait for you. By then, there will be a bunch of little Darmeras.”

Little Caterpillar replied eagerly, “I will, Damera. By next spring, I will grow into a butterfly. This time, I will fly over to find you!” They became such great friends; Caterpillar and Darmera could not wait for spring to come, where they would see each other again!

The End.