As told by Jemma Ellis to her dad, at age five. He messed with it a bit.
And oh, artistic license was applied to all entomological and zoological reference. So when your kid asks, good luck looking up the life cycle of a butterfly and whether squirrels can do kung fu
Book one
This is the tale of a little larva called Beaulah. She lived in a tiny cocoon which hung from a willow tree near a river. The tree was also home to a squirrel called Sheila. They spent their days chatting about how much fun they would have once Beaulah grew out of her silky little home.
Beaulah slept on a soft pink bed made of rose petals. Her pillow was filled with poppy and pansy petals. Beaulah’s mom had stocked up on lots of tasty food for her stay in the cocoon, cupcakes made from berry nectar. All her needs where taken care of, except for just one thing. Beaulah was bored.
One morning, as always, Beaulah called for Sheila. But there was no reply. Sheila was missing. Beaulah felt awfully sad and alone. Where had her friend gone, what was a little larva to do? Beaulah spent the day pining for her friend, finally falling asleep a very unhappy little larva indeed.
In the dark of night Beaulah woke with a fright. The picture of her mom and dad had smashed to the floor. Her home seemed to be coming apart at the seams. Something was wrong. She was very scared. And then she heard a voice.
It was Sheila. “Come Beaulah,” she cried. “It’s nearly dawn. I have just returned from the annual squirrel’s convention and the old squirrel, Mr Spigget, said that we have much to celebrate… tomorrow is the first day of spring! Beaulah, it’s nearly morning and soon you will be a butterfly!”
“I’m terribly scared,” cried Beaulah. “My cocoon is falling apart. The picture of mom and dad has fallen off the wall.” “Yes silly,” said Sheila. “That’s because you don’t need it anymore, its time to leave.” “The real world? At last!”
Beaulah was so excited that she jumped off of her bed and fell straight through the floor of her cocoon. “Whaaa…”
“Oh… my… gosh,” Sheila exclaimed. “Look at your beautiful wings, you can fly.”
Beaulah looked over her shoulder. She saw a bright array of colour. Her wings felt like satin. They were purple and gold. Beaulah felt a gentle breeze and, in an instant, was whisked into the sky, flying high above the river.
The river meandered through a deep valley. The water was cool and crystal clear. Rainbow-coloured fish swam below and dragonflies skimmed the surface. The river banks were covered in pretty flowers. Red ones, blue ones, orange and white. The best (by far) were the petals that looked a bit like money. Beaulah had never seen such a beautiful sight, she was mesmerised, lost in a trance. And not looking where she was going.
The evil spider, Spartacus, had been watching Beaulah ever since she had left the cocoon. He knew that she would be distracted by the beauty of her new world. The perfect prey. With frightening speed he spun a web in her path and scampered across its thread. His hair bristled, evil eyes narrowed at the site of fresh food, and his fangs drooled poison saliva.
Suddenly the breeze turned and brought with it the smell of spider breath. Although she had never seen a spider, Beaulah instinctively sensed the worst kind of danger. In an instant her once-beautiful world turned sticky. The web wrapped its gooey thread and she was trapped. Help! Screamed the terrified butterfly. “I have you now, you’re as good as gobbled,” Spartacus bared with his fangs.
“Not on my watch!” In a blur of furry zak speed a squirrel dived at the web. It was Sheila. She had spent years mastering the art of combat yoga under the guidance of grand master Squirrel Nurdosh. All of her hard work had just paid off. “Ohm!” Screamed Sheila as she squirrel-chopped Spartacus right on the nose. He spat a gob of venom in retaliation, but she was ready for that.
Sheila performed the perfect shoulder stand and mopped the air with her furry tail, absorbing his vile poison. Before touching ground and moving through the rest of her vinyasa she deliverd a stiff jab with her south claw to Spartacus’ upper lip. Bam. Knocked out cold. Sheila freed Beaulah from the evil tangle. “Quick, grab my tail.” The friends leaped into the air and landed in the relative safety of an endangered tree species.
“Whew, that was close! The world is one crazy place,” she exclaimed. “Sure,” said Sheila. “But get rid of your short-term debt, ride a bike to work, eat dolphin friendly tuna, remember to engage your mulabanda, keep clear of telesales people, love your work, make decent friends, enjoy good red wine, and you’ll see. Fun and opportunity is everywhere. Even South Africa.”
