The Dragonfly Story ~ Author Unknown

The Dragonfly StoryDown below the surface of a quiet pond lived a little colony ofWater bugs. They were a happy colony, living far away from thesun. For many months they were very busy, scurrying over thesoft mud on the bottom of the pond. They did notice that everyonce in awhile one of their colony seemed to lose interest ingoing about. Clinging to the stem of a pond lily it graduallymoved out of sight and was seen no more.“Look!” said one of the water bugs to another. “One of ourcolony is climbing up the lily stalk. Where do you think she isgoing?” Up, up, up it slowly went. Even as they watched, thewater bug disappeared from sight. Its friends waited andwaited but it didn’t return.“That’s funny!” said one water bug to another. “Wasn’t she happy here?” asked a second. “Where do you suppose shewent?” wondered a third.No one had an answer. They were greatly puzzled. Finally oneof the water bugs, a leader in the colony, gathered its friendstogether. “I have an idea. The next one of us who climbs up thelily stalk must promise to come back and tell us where he orshe went and why.”“We promise”, they said solemnly.One spring day, not long after, the very water bug who hadsuggested the plan found himself climbing up the lily stalk. Up,up, up, he went. Before he knew what was happening, he hadbroken through the surface of the water and fallen onto thebroad, green lily pad above.When he awoke, he looked about with surprise. He couldn'tbelieve what he saw. A startling change had come to his oldbody. His movement revealed four silver wings and a long tail.Even as he struggled, he felt an impulse to move his wings. Thewarmth of the sun soon dried the moisture from the new body.He moved his wings again and suddenly found himself upabove the water. He had become a dragonfly!Swooping and dipping in great curves, he flew through the air.He felt exhilarated in the new atmosphere. The new dragonflylighted happily on a lily pad to rest. Then it was that hechanced to look below to the bottom of the pond. Why, he wasright above his old friends, the water bugs! There they werescurrying around, just as he had been doing some time before.The dragonfly remembered the promise: “the next one of uswho climbs up the lily stalk will come back and tell where he orshe went and why.” Without thinking, the dragonfly darteddown. Suddenly he hit the surface of the water and bouncedaway. Now that he was a dragonfly, he could no longer go intothe water.“I can’t return!” he said in dismay. “At least, I tried. But I can’tkeep my promise. Even if I could go back, not one of the waterbugs would know me in my new body. I guess I’ll just have towait until they become dragonflies too. Then they’ll understandwhat has happened to me, and where I went.”And the dragonfly winged off happily into its wonderful newworld of sun and air.~Author Unknown