The Parable Of The Caterpillar

There was once a variety of butterfly that would lay exactly 100 larva. Each larva would live for 1 day munching away on the leaf and then would spin it's cocoon, and in the morning it would break out of it's cocoon transformed into a butterfly.

One year the butterfly laid it's larva, and the larva began to crawl across the leaf munching away, but just as the last larva set out a drop of rain fell near it on the leaf and splattered a droplet which landed on top of his antenna. No matter how he turned his antenna the droplet remained, misshaping and distorting everything he saw.
He no longer even attempted to eat the luscious leaf for it had turned into an exotic landscape filled with images from distant lands – oceans and mountains, vast plains and immense forests, and beautiful maidens trapped in castles ringed by demons. As the sun rose in the sky and then began to set he roamed the vast landscape immune to hunger or thirst as he marveled at each new sight. Even after the other larva were fast asleep in their cocoons our little larva roamed a landscape now carved out of moonlight – each new wonder more ephemeral than before, but still filled with awe and excitement. When at last the morning sun warmed the cocoons and the other larva burst forth transformed into beautiful butterflies they found the little larva – still a larva, but now emaciated, shrunken and gasping softly for breath. His siblings each expressed their sorrow and grieved at how he would miss out on life then opened their wings and flew away. As the last butterfly departed he looked after them and shook his head sadly, "No. It is I who feel sorry for you. For you can never imagine the many fantastic places I have been and the wonderful things I have seen." and with that he lay back on the leaf and died.