Hi Everyone!! This article will share The Butterfly and The Caterpillar Questions & Answers.
Written by Joseph Lauren, this poem is about a butterfly’s dialogue with a caterpillar. In my previous posts, I have shared the questions and answers of Packing for Travel, The Vet’s Miracle and Words To A Grandchild so, you can check these posts as well.
Question 1: Read the lines from the poem and answer the questions:
‘Horrors!’ the butterfly exclaimed,
This must be stopped! I am ashamed.
(a) What is the butterfly horrified and ashamed of?
Answer: The butterfly is horrified and ashamed that someone as beautiful and attractive as it, should have to live in the same world as that of the caterpillar who is both hideous and disgusting, according to him.
(b) Why did the butterfly have this reaction?
Answer: The butterfly had this reaction because it thought that it was beautiful and the caterpillar was so ugly that it had no right to exist, at least not in the same world as the butterfly’s.
(c) Which human quality does the butterfly have and why?
Answer: The butterfly has the human quality of pride and it is because he feels he is the most beautiful creature in the world and there is no one else like him.
Question 2: Read the lines from the poem and answer the questions:
‘Eight days ago, young butterfly,
You wormed about the same as I’
(a) According to the caterpillar, what was the butterfly’s condition eight days ago?
Answer: According to the caterpillar, eight days ago the butterfly’s condition was the same as the caterpillar’s. Eight days ago, the butterfly too was ugly and hideous, and crawling around like the caterpillar.
(b) What will be the caterpillar be a fortnight later? How?
Answer: A fortnight later, the caterpillar will be a gorgeous butterfly because it will go through the transformative stage of being a pupa and then break out of the cocoon as a beautiful butterfly.
(c) What does the caterpillar eat now and what will it eat later?
Answer: The caterpillar eats leaves day and night for it needs to build up strength for the pupa and cocoon stages when it will not eat anything. As a butterfly, it will eat the pollen from the flowers.
Question 3: Read the lines from the poem and answer the questions:
‘You, in your livery so gay,
And all the gaudy moths and millers
Are only dressed up caterpillars.’
(a) What is meant by butterfly’s gay livery?
Answer: The butterfly’s ‘gay livery’ refers to its colourful and beautiful wings which are like the clothes it wears.
(b) Why are the moths termed gaudy?
Answer: The moths are termed gaudy because some of them are extremely colorful, and very bright and vivid colours are displayed on their wings.
(c) Why are the butterflies, moths and millers only dressed-up caterpillars?
Answer: The butterflies, moths, and millers are only dressed-up caterpillars because they were all started life as caterpillars and are just grandly dressed now but in their hearts, they are still creepy, crawly, hideous, and disgusting caterpillars.
Question 4: Where were the butterfly and the caterpillar?
Answer: The butterfly was sitting on a spray of blossoming hawthorn, and below him, a caterpillar was crawling along on the garden wall.
Question 5: What was the butterfly doing one summer morning?
Answer: One summer morning, the butterfly was sitting on a spray of blossoming hawthorn and sipping and drinking nectar from the thorn blossoms.
Question 6: Is the butterfly’s reaction to the caterpillar normal?
Answer: No, the butterfly’s reaction to the caterpillar is not normal, because it had also started its life as an ugly caterpillar. Also, there are all types of people in the world – some are very beautiful, some are ordinary, while others are downright ugly. But one should learn to see the inner beauty of their souls and not react to their external appearances.
Question 7: What is the caterpillar’s prediction for his future?
Answer: The caterpillar predicts that within a fortnight he would have two wings which would carry him to brighter blooms and lovelier lures, with colors that out rival the proud butterfly’s.
Question 8: What is common between the butterfly and the caterpillar?
Answer: The butterfly and the caterpillar have one thing in common, they are both caterpillars, one with wings and one without wings. It is just a stage of evolution that the butterfly has already gone through and the caterpillar will go through eventually.
Question 9: What lesson does the caterpillar teach the butterfly?
Answer: The caterpillar teaches the butterfly a very important lesson. It tells the butterfly that it should not be proud and contemptuous because the caterpillar will also one day be like the butterfly. So, the butterfly need not be so proud and arrogant.
Question 10: What does the hawthorn bush think of the butterfly and the caterpillar’s interaction?
Answer: The hawthorn bush most probably thinks that the butterfly and the caterpillar are both stupid. Both of them don’t realise that they are the same species and have the same past and same future.
Question 11: The caterpillar could have been completely humiliated by the butterfly, but he decides not to remain silent and fight back instead. What does it tell you about the caterpillar?
Answer: The caterpillar could have been completely humiliated by the butterfly but he decides not to remain silent and fight back instead. This tells us that the caterpillar is a very brave creature and has the courage to fight against persecution. When one is bullied or ragged one must always fight back bravely.
Question 12: If you were the butterfly, what change would you undergo after the caterpillar’s statements?
Answer: If I were the butterfly, I would change a lot after the interaction with the caterpillar. I would become less vain of my looks and more tolerant of others and respect others regardless of their looks.
Question 13: Do you believe that humans have the potential to transform themselves like the caterpillar?
Answer: Yes, I believe that humans have the potential to transform themselves like the caterpillar. Human beings can change and grow positively and create a new personality and a new life for themselves. After all, we live in an age of makeovers!
So, these were The Butterfly and The Caterpillar Questions & Answers.
