The Aphephobic Caterpillars

Image "Borrowed" from Shu (http://shu-art.blogspot.ca/)

Once upon a time, two aphephobic caterpillars met, walking along the same side of the same twig in opposite directions. Both caterpillars, not wanting to be touched, tried to crawl over the other and be the one on top. Instead they ended up crawling up each other, perpendicular to the twig on which they were both walking. Each realized their mistake immediately but panicked, not wanting to be the one who hesitated and have the other caterpillar crawl up and over themselves. Instead each crawled even faster trying to be the one who crawled on top of the other.

Of course, before long, they were no longer crawling along the twig at all and were only holding on to each other, and fell from the twig plummeting towards the ground and certain death.

Now you may not realize this but time goes by more slowly for caterpillars than it does for humans and the two caterpillars, clinging on to each other out of fright, had time to have a conversation with each other before they collided with the ground below them. The conversation went something like this:

The first caterpillar said: “It seems our own unreasonable fears will be the end of us both. How ironic that our last act is to grasp each other tightly when our fear of being touched is the cause of our predicament”.

To which the second caterpillar responded: “I’m sure this doesn’t have to be our last act. Deep inside us we both have the knowledge of flight. We have thus far lived a life of legs; but we are also creatures of wings. We have crawled but it is our destiny to fly. Maybe, just maybe, we can tap that part of our inner selves and soar!”.

Inspired both caterpillars released their hold of each other; and died alone.

THE END