The Dinosaur and the Butterfly Twins

A children's story.

*Illustration by Lisa Hunt

                                   ***

Born the same day,
A swell 22nd of May
The Dinosaur and the Butterfly -
Oh what a curious pair!

A strange set of twins,
Neither had fins.

Brother and sister,
One jagged tail,
Four sonic wings –
Not a single strand of hair.

IMAGINE!

He walked on land.
She flew by air.
And the differences
Well, they didn’t stop there.

The Dinosaur glowed green as a rare emerald stone.
With dazzling blue eyes, he had a style all his own.
Deep purple spikes ran down his back
Keeping him safe from monster attack.

His red spotted tongue wasn’t just for fun.
It came in handy for licking candy and on long days in the sun -
Catching flies, telling little white lies, kissing goodbyes.

The Butterfly shone bright sunflower yellow,
All sparkles and diamonds and mist.
She had pink and orange patterned wings,
Majestic air-minded things.
The darling kind that rustle leaves in the night
And help one take flight.

A delicate creature,
She glided about, high atop trees
Disguising herself as a kite.

The Dinosaur, well, he had a quiet demeanor.
A sensitive, cautious reserve.
Ever mindful of others
He was friendly and fair,
Making sure everyone got just as they deserve.

The Butterfly, oh my, did she have a theatrical streak.
She was bellicose and proud.
A stage animal that could bring the house down,
She loved mixing it up with a crowd.

A fountain of facts and figures,
The Dinosaur’s encyclopedic knowledge –
Boy did it get ‘wowed!’

In his spare time he played the saxophone
RAPTOROUSLY
Beneath a snow white cloud.
On stormy nights he preferred listening to jazz
Shhhh – not too loud!

The Butterfly gleefully practiced ballet,
Performed exquisite pirouettes and wore a new costume each day.
On special occasions she did a slow waltz in the garden with a wickedly handsome blue jay.

Gifted at ART & DESIGN,
she drew pretty pictures -
boldly colouring outside the line.

With all of these differences
You might wonder what made the twins the same?

Did this odd couple share more than a spring birthday, a mom and a dad, and a regal last name? (Dinosaur & Butterfly Van Dusen)

Together at the start,
Would the Dinosaur and the Butterfly eventually grow apart?

NEVER!

You see -
The Dinosaur and the Butterfly twins
Had an identical heart.

They shared pancakes on Sundays
Enjoyed feeding squirrels in the park
Sang songs before bed
Treasured their friends
Invented new words,
Made up silly jokes about mistletoe and Millie the cat that lost her head and wound up dead after she wed a dog named Fred.

So next time you spot an unlikely pair,
Remember the Dinosaur and the Butterfly twins:
It’s not how we look
That makes us the same.

No.

It’s not our animal spirits or our peculiar habits,
Our special traits or our claims to fame.

It’s our belief in the smallest good things -
The simple fact that we care.

What keeps us together
Are the laughs and tears and times we share.

And yes, it helps that neither had hair.

IMAGINE!