THE BUTTERFLY AND THE KITTEN

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2 THE BUTTERFLY AND THE KITTEN Written and Illustrated by Finley Keller The Butterfly and The Kitten Children s Stories From Keller Farms - Vol Finley J. Keller All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage and retrieval system without prior written permission of the author. Your support of authors rights is appreciated. Other Children s Stories by Finley Keller: Kittens on the Barn Roof The Kittens & the Donkey 2

3 Springtime is a glorious time of year at Keller Farms. Flowers are blooming, birds are busy building nests, tiny tree frogs are hopping everywhere and there are lots and lots of buggies in the air! There are two kittens at Keller Farms that had been orphaned when they were just a week old. Their human mommy took them in and bottle-fed them until they could eat on their own. These two kittens are Mikey and Greta. 3

4 Mikey is a gray and white kitten with great big ears! In fact, when you look at him, all you see are ears! Greta is a pearl grey kitten with big round eyes that give her a look of wonderment, as if she is seeing everything for the first time. Greta also has big ears but not as big as Mikey s. 4

5 Mikey and Greta enjoy being outside in the gentle Spring weather. The sun is warm, the grass is soft and green and the buggies that hop and fly all around give the kittens endless hours of fun. 5

6 They love to chase after the buggies and jump up and try to catch them. Mikey s favorite bug is the butterfly. How he loves butterflies! Butterflies are beautiful with their colored wings.this one yellow and black that one black and red another one blue and black. 6

7 And they fly through the air gently and quietly, seeming to bounce up and down as they go. Mikey loved to chase butterflies but only to play with them. He would never hurt them. The butterflies seemed to know this as they would fly close to the ground and allow Mikey to get close. 7

8 When a butterfly lands on something nearby, Mikey will gently push his nose up close to it. If he s lucky, the butterfly will hop on his nose, wings slowing folding open then closed. Mikey loves having the butterflies walk around on his nose and face because their tiny feet tickle him. 8

9 Greta likes butterflies, too, but the tiny tree frogs are her favorites. The tree frogs feel spongy to her paw when she touches them and it is fun to chase after them when they jump. The tiny frogs do not go very far when they jump so Greta doesn t have to run as much as she would if she chased butterflies. 9

10 Greta is not lazy. She just doesn t waste her steps! Like Mikey, Greta never hurts the little frogs, she just likes to play. This one very beautiful day, Mikey and Greta were outside playing, when all of a sudden, Mikey calls to Greta. Greta! Greta! Look at this new butterfly! I ve never seen a butterfly like this before! 10

11 Greta was busy looking for tree frogs and was deep in the jasmine bush when Mikey called to her. She came out to see what Mikey was yelling about. 11

12 She saw Mikey looking at a clover flower in front of him. On the clover flower was a buggie that was golden yellow, black and white. 12

13 said. I don t think that is a butterfly, Mikey, Greta Sure, it is, Greta! See the yellow and black colors? Mikey said, not taking his eyes off the bug. But, Mikey, the wings are too small for a butterfly! And it is making that funny noise. Butterflies don t make noise, Greta said with doubt in her voice. 13

14 Well, maybe it s a baby butterfly, Mikey said thoughtfully. Yes. That s what it is a baby butterfly! Wow, I ve never seen a baby butterfly! Greta watched the bug for a few moments and shook her head. Mikey, you better be careful. I don t think it is a baby butterfly and you should not get too close to it until you know what it is, Greta warned. When Mikey put his nose close to butterflies, they almost always got on his nose, but when he put his nose close to this baby butterfly, it acted like it didn t see him and certainly did not try to jump on his nose. 14

15 The baby butterfly flew away and Mikey chased after it. It landed on another flower and Mikey got close to it again. He put up his paw and gently touched the baby butterfly. The baby butterfly made a funny noise, zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. 15

16 Mikey pulled his paw back in surprise. Hey, little Butterfly, what kind of noise was that? Mikey wondered. Again Mikey put his face in close to the baby butterfly closer.closer till finally his little nose was touching the baby butterfly. 16

17 The baby butterfly touched back then flew away just as Mikey cried out. Ouch! Ouch! Greta! Greta! Ouch! Help me! Mikey cried. Greta came running over to Mikey. What s wrong, Mikey? What s wrong? Greta asked as she looked at her sobbing little brother. T-that b-baby butterfly bit me on my nose and it hurts! Mikey cried. 17

18 Greta looked at Mikey s nose. Oh-oh. There was a red spot right in the middle and a bump that was getting bigger and bigger. Mikey, I told you that did not look like a butterfly! Butterflies don t bite! I ll go get mommy, Greta said as she took off to find their human mommy. 18

19 Mikey just sat there and cried. His little nose was getting bigger and bigger and it hurt. He put his little paw up to the bump and it hurt even more. Greta was right. It was not a butterfly. Mikey looked around. Who said that? he asked. 19

20 I said it. Mikey looked up in the window and there was Sophie, the queen cat of the property. In the past, Sophie would not so much as look at him and here she was talking to him! Wow! I watched you playing with that bug. That bug was a bee and bees do not bite, they sting! Sophie said to the still crying Mikey. But, but it was yellow and black! Mikey insisted. Mikey, Sophie said with patience, are all butterflies yellow and black? N-no, Mikey replied quietly. 20

21 That s correct, said Sophie. So, if all butterflies are not yellow and black, why would you think every yellow and black bug is a butterfly? Mikey could not think as tears still ran down his very swollen nose. Well, I guess I made a mistake, Mikey said, trying not to cry. It s OK that you made a mistake. That is how you learn. But the next time you are out playing with bugs, make sure the butterfly you are chasing has big wings that are yellow and black! Sophie gently said. And, with that, she stretched, yawned and went back to sleep. 21

22 Mikey was still looking towards the window, fighting the tears, when his human mommy came running out of the house, Greta right behind her. Oh, my darling little Mikey! his human mommy said as she ran over to him. Hearing her loving voice Mikey could not help himself and started crying again. His human mommy gently picked him up in her hands and held him close to her. 22

23 Your nose is huge! Did you get stung by a bee, my little sweetie? his human mommy asked as she looked at his face. Yes, yes, I did! I thought it was a butterfly but Sophie said it was a bee and it stung me! Mikey cried. Of course, his human mommy could not understand his kitten words. But she knew. She often watched Mikey and Greta playing outside, always seeing where they were, making sure they were safe, because that is what mommies do. Mikey wasn t the first to get stung by a bee and would not be the last! 23

24 Mikey and Greta went inside the house for a nap. Mikey s human mommy put some medicine on the bee sting and now it didn t hurt as much. He looked over at the window and saw Sophie still sleeping. He was sure he saw her open her eyes for a moment and smile at him. 24

25 Mikey snuggled next to Greta in their little bed. He had stopped crying and felt that things were not as bad as he thought. His nose felt better, the most important cat on the property not only spoke to him but was nice to him and his human mommy loved him. Greta rose slightly and lovingly licked Mikey s head before snuggling back down. Mikey and Greta then purred themselves to sleep. Could life be any better at Keller Farms? 25

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