The Ogre and The Butterfly

There once was an Ogre that lived in the swamp. He loved his home that was covered in swamp leaves, worms and mud. He enjoyed being alone and having a fun time without anyone ruining it. He enjoyed doing the things he wanted to do every day and eating what he liked every day. The Ogre felt like his life was heavenly but even with all of the things he liked, he felt like he was still missing something. The Ogre felt like he was missing... a friend👬. He hated feeling lonely. All of the other Ogres were mean or always seemed to stir up trouble. So he didn't hang out with them or have any friends🚻. He enjoyed being alone and having his own space but he didn't like the loneliness he felt whenever he had a lot of fun in the swamp.

One day the Ogre walked along the forest road towards his way home. He was minding his own business when he saw a flicker of colorful light coming from a bush🌳. He was going to keep walking but then he heard wimpering coming from the direction of the light. The Ogre let out a huff before changing his direction and started off walking towards the light. The Ogre moved around the bush🌳 and saw a bulb of light glowing. He reached inside the bush🌳 to grab it but suddenly something scratched him. The Ogre snatched his hand back and let out a gruff sound. "Ouch", he said slowly. He then looked to see where the scratch had come from and noticed a wild cat🐱 laying low, licking it's chops while staring at the glowing light. The Ogre put a frown on his face and gave the wild cat🐱 a whack. The cat🐱 let out a hiss before scurrying off into the forest. The Ogre watched the cat🐱 disappear before returning his gaze to the wimpering light. The Ogre couldn't help but stare at the beauty in the changing colors. They were so bright and lively, he felt mesmerized by them. Once again the Ogre reached into the bush to grab the changing light but this time the Ogre was able to gently grab the light. He held it in his hand and the wimpering stopped. This scared the Ogre. He wasn't sure if he was too rough and might have broken the light. The Ogre cuffed the light in both of his hands and began to run home.

Once home, the Ogre gently placed the light on the table. He didn't know what to do to fix it but he felt like he had to protect it. The Ogre sat in a chair quietly as he watched. His heart❤ felt pure joy at seeing the light change its many colors. He has never seen anything like it. The Ogre used his finger to pet the colorful ball of light before he slowly spoke, "You are safe." The Ogre felt happy that he had found a friend👬.

The next day the Ogre was awaken by a surprise. "SMASH" went a jar that had fallen off of a shelf. The Ogre jumped up and looked around his home but saw nothing. He then noticed his friend was gone!😨
The Ogre looked high👆, then low👇, then high👆 again until he noticed a glow coming from behind another jar. The Ogre was confused by this. How did it get over there? He questioned himself. The Ogre moved the jar to reveal the glowing light and was all too surprised to see his friend had wings. The colorful glowing wings unfolded themselves just before he took flight. To see it shimmer🌌 and change color was mesmerizing. The Ogre slumped down into his chair and watched his friend flutter around in the air. The butterfly looked so different. You can tell just from seeing it, that it was special. The butterfly flew to the Ogres table and landed gracefully while still slowly flapping it's wings. The butterfly appeared happy as it's wings continued to twinkle. This in turn made the Ogre happy and made him smile... showing all six of his teeth. The butterfly wings still twinkled as they fluttered. The Ogre looked around and saw nothing quite as beautiful in his swamp house. The Ogre used his big finger to scratch his big head. "Hmm", he grumbled. Slowly the Ogre had a thought. He decided to make his home look like his friend. He wanted his house to shimmer and the wall colors to change. He thought on how to do this.
Then another slow idea crept into his head. Before leaving, he took the butterfly and put him in a cage so his friend wouldn't get hurt. The Ogre than stormed out of his house on a mission. This was unfortunate for the butterfly. Because the butterfly needs freedom to glow and be healthy.

Once the Ogre returned he had many items with him to make his ideas come to life. How grand he felt that he could show his friend. The Ogre walked into his home to only find his friend stopped shining and changing colors. His friend looks sick. The Ogre looked shocked and quickly ran over to it's cage to free his friend. He held the butterfly sick body in his hands. He did not know what to do. He hoped if he show his friend all of the things he has collected, his friend would be happy again. The Ogre ran outside to show his friend the baskets of berries🍑, leaves🌱, twigs and such he has gathered🍲. The butterfly did not move but some color did return to it. This made the Ogre feel a teeny weeny bit better knowing all was not lost. He returned inside and placed the butterfly on the table. The Ogre brought in the baskets of things he collected and began to change his home. He made sure he had enough squirrels🐿 for the project. Why squirrels🐿..? Because their tails make great paint brushes he thought😂. While the Ogre squished the berries into juice he saw his friend curl the end of his wing. The Ogre felt so happy and moved even faster. The Ogre used the berry juice on the walls to paint the colors he wanted. It took some time but all the walls looked painted except for one space. The Ogre stirred up some mud and began pasting glow worms and lightning bugs to the wall, filling up the empty space with his decor. After the Ogre was all finished he wiped his brow and was shocked at the masterpiece he had created. He stood in his own home and was stunned by the beauty that reminded him of his friend. The Ogre looked over at the table and saw his friend standing on the table, slowly fluttering it's wings as before. The shine and health has returned to his friend and that made the Ogre smile once more showing all six of his teeth. The butterfly flew over to the Ogre and hugged his cheek. The butterfly was proud of the Ogre. The Ogre put away the mess left over and began to think. The Ogre soon realized his friend needed bigger spaces to live. He did not want his friend to leave but he don't want his friend to get sick either. Even though it was going to make the Ogre sad, he had to let his friend go home. The Ogre thanked the butterfly for being a friend. The butterfly thanked the Ogre for saving them and gave the Ogre another hug on the cheek before fluttering away.

One day, the Ogre decided he loved his swamp but it needed more color. He wanted his swamp to match the stunning looks inside his home. So the Ogre spent one afternoon planting water flowers. The Ogre was only outside for a short while when he saw a shimmer🌌 glistening in the sky. The Ogre took a closer look👀 and noticed it was his butterfly friend and many like him coming to visit. The Ogre was so surprised by the beauty in them and was extremely happy. They all spent the day together laughing and playing in the Ogres swamp. The Ogre enjoyed himself and no longer felt lonely because he had friends👬 that would visit him.

Lesson: Be inspired but being selfish can cost you. Enjoy the moment and let go. If it's meant to be more, it will return.