One sunny day in July, a little caterpillar went squirming about, in a field somewhere in Arizona. Her name was Vernanda. She was just a child caterpillar, and she was getting chubbier and chubbier each day. Today was a special day for her, because today was the day that she would eat as much as she could to prepare for big day tomorrow. Tomorrow she would wrap herself in her chrysalis for about 10 days. She hoped she would be astonishingly beautiful, which as you will see, she would be.

On her way to her favorite little plant, so she could eat, she was stopped by a mannish grasshopper.

“Hello, little caterpillar.” said the grasshopper.

“Oh, hello sir.” Vernanda said smiling.

“Oh, you could call me Spud. Haven’t you got a name miss?” said the grasshopper.

“Why, yes I do. I go by Vernanda.” Vernanda responded.

“What a beautiful name for a beautiful butterfly - I mean caterpillar. When do you suppose you will turn into a butterfly?” Spud asked with a flirtatious wink. He was very interested in Vernanda, because he knew that she would turn into a beautiful butterfly.

“Eleven days! Tomorrow I turn my chrysalis, and then in about ten days I will be beautiful butterfly!” Vernanda said ecstatically. Spud smiled at her excitement.

“Well, I shall be waiting for you my beautiful Vernanda. And with that I must go off to prepare for the day we meet again. Until then, my lady.” Spud said dashing off to get ready.

Vernanda had never been complemented before, and It gave her a warm feeling inside. She liked it.
As she continued on to her little plant she ran into another guest. This one was a cricket, who had never seen a caterpillar, and was not as nice as the grasshopper.
“You look ugly. Why are you all hairy?” the cricket said with a bad attitude.
“I am not all that ugly, anyway I will be beautiful in eleven days, because I will be a butterfly.” Vernanda said.
“Yeah, right! You’re ugly and there is nothing you can do about it.” the cricket replied laughing and hopping off.
Vernanda was very saddened by this, and hoped that this mean cricket was wrong.
The next day she spun her chrysalis hopefully, and went into her morphing slumber. Ten days later the chrysalis opened to release a beautiful butterfly. As she sat on a branch allowing her wings to air out, and she heard a familiar voice say, “There you are, my beautiful lady.” She looked down and it was the handsome grasshopper!
“Don’t look at me!” she said. She felt ugly, so he put her head down and folded her wings.
“Oh, but why can I not lay my eyes upon such beauty? Do I not deserve to view such perfectness?” Spud asked a bit ashamed.
“No, I am ugly, and I don’t want to you to see!” Vernanda said shaking her head.
“Oh, you are beautiful. Come down here. What has caused you to doubt yourself?” Spud asked waiting for her to glide down. She came down and told Spud about what happened with the mean cricket. Spud told her that she was the most beautiful thing in the whole world. She could feel the lovely warm feeling again. She smiled and felt much better about herself.
They spent the rest of their days together, and she never paid any attention to people who didn't see her self worth. Because of that she was almost always happy.