Along a dusty road in India there sat an old beggar who sold cocoons. A curious young boy watched him from a distance day after day. Unexpectedly the beggar beckoned to him: "Do you know what beauty lies within this ugly chrysalis? I will give you one so that you might see for yourself. But you must be careful not to handle the cocoon until the butterfly emerges."
The boy was enchanted with his gift and hurried home to await the butterfly. He laid the cocoon on the floor and became aware of a strange thing. The hidden butterfly was beating its fragile wings against the hard wall of the chrysalis. It appeared it would surely perish before it could break the unyielding prison. Wanting to only help, the boy impulsively pried the cocoon open. Out flopped a wet, brown, ugly thing which quickly died.
The boy sadly returned to tell his story. When the beggar discovered what had happened, he quietly explained to the boy: "in order for the butterfly's wings to grow strong enough to support, it is necessary that it beat them against the walls of the cocoon. Only by this struggle can its wings become durable and beautiful. When you denied that struggle, you took away its only chance for survival."
The young boy had been taught a very valuable lesson: "May the walls of your cocoon be just thick enough to allow you to struggle just long enough to emerge the beautiful person you are designed and destined to be."
For parents - "May you make the walls of your children's cocoon thick enough for them to struggle just long enough to emerge as the beautiful person they are designed and destined to be."
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