How to make sure the butterfly cannot fly?

How do you get a butterfly?

First there is the egg which hatches into a caterpillar. The caterpillar eats and grows. At the right time, it makes a cocoon out of its own body. While in the cocoon, the caterpillar changes into a butterfly.

When the butterfly is ready, it starts to break through the cocoon. First a hole appears. Then the butterfly struggles to come out through the hole. This can take a few hours.

If you try to "help" the butterfly by cutting the cocoon, the butterfly will come out easily but it will never fly. Your "help" has destroyed the butterfly.

The butterfly can fly because it has to struggle to come out. The pushing forces lots of enzymes from the body to the wing tips. This strengthens the muscles, and reduces the body weight. In this way, the butterfly will be able to fly the moment it comes out of the cocoon. Otherwise it will simply fall to the ground, crawl around with a swollen body and shrunken wings, and soon die.

If the butterfly is not left to struggle to come out of the cocoon, it will never fly.

We can learn an important lesson from the butterfly.

If we do not have struggles and challenges in our work, we will never grow strong and capable. If life has no difficulties, we will become weak and helpless.

---- Lim Siong Guan Head, Civil Service