The Gardener held a delicate cocoon in the palm of his hand.

“What’s that?” The young boy asked.

“Why it’s a cocoon,” replied the gardener. “Inside is a caterpillar. He’s in the dark. But when he’s ready, he’ll break out and turn into a wondrous and beautiful butterfly.”

“Can I have it?” asked the young boy.”

“Of course,” answered the gardener. “But first, you must promise that you won’t open the cocoon for the butterfly when he begins to break out.”

The young boy agreed and took the cocoon home with him.

The very next day, the cocoon began to tremble and the butterfly fought hard to escape. The entire cocoon shook and trembled with the butterfly’s efforts to emerge. The struggle went on for what seemed like an eternity to the concerned young boy. He became so distressed over the butterfly’s struggle that he decided to help and broke open the cocoon.

He continued to watch, eager to see the butterfly soar with its beautiful wings. Unfortunately, the butterfly just crawled around with withered wings and a huge body. It died, never able to fly.

The boy returned to the gardener crying and cradling the dead butterfly in his hand.

“You helped the butterfly escape from the cocoon, didn’t you?” the gardener asked.

“With tears in his eyes; the boy admitted that he had opened the cocoon.”

“What you didn’t understand,” the gardener said, “was that the butterfly had to go through the struggle. Only then could he transform from a lowly caterpillar to a magnificent butterfly. Only then would he expand his wings and be able to fly. By trying to make it easier for him, you actually made it harder for him; in this case, impossible to fly. You killed him with good intentions.”

Sometimes, a little extra effort is precisely what prepares us for the next obstacle in life. If we never experience the struggle, we will never be able to fly!