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Chimi was a little girl who lived with her family near the Amazon River on the edge of a forest. The forest was a frightful place to Chimi. It was said to be full of shape-shifting animals and evil spirits. The forest was so dense that a person could get hopelessly lost in it very quickly.
Nevertheless, the men in Chimi's family hunted in the forest. At night, they entertained everyone with tales of their adventures. Over time, Chimi's curiosity about the forest grew.
One day, as Chimi sat playing on the outskirts of the forest, a brilliant blue morpho butterfly landed on her hand. The morpho butterfly is a special, iridescent butterfly that lives in the rainforests of South America.
"You are so beautiful," Chimi said to the butterfly. "I wish I could be like you!"
The butterfly flew off, and Chimi followed. She tracked the butterfly from tree to tree, until she found herself deep in the forest. The trees seemed to have closed in around her, and Chimi had no clue how to get back home. She called for her parents, but only her echo responded.
Then she heard a tapping sound. Maybe it was a woodsman! thought Chimi. But no, the sound was coming from a woodpecker. |
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"I wish you were a human," Chimi said to the bird. "Then you could lead me home!"
"I could lead you anyway," the woodpecker said, in an annoyed tone. "But I'm busy. You humans are so self-centered! My work is just as important as yours!" The bird flew off abruptly.
"I'm sorry!" Chimi yelled after the woodpecker. "But I'm lost. I just want to go home!"
She wandered for awhile, and then….luck! Chimi came upon an old woman weaving a hammock.
"I'm so glad to see you," Chimi told her. "I was afraid I would never get out of the forest!"
 Suddenly, the old woman turned into a bird. It had magically taken a human form to trick Chimi. The bird flew around Chimi's head in an angry frenzy. "How dare you ask for my help?" it squawked. "Do you know how many of my family members have been hunted by your people? I would never assist you!"
"I can't help it that I'm a human!" Chimi called as the bird flew off.
She was very hungry by this time and the sky had grown dark. Chimi thought she would starve, but she stumbled upon some fruit on the ground. She ate it and more fruit dropped from the trees. Chimi looked up and saw monkeys in the tree branches. The monkeys jumped to the ground and turned into humans. They surrounded Chimi.
"Hey, Chimi! What are you doing here in the forest?" asked a monkey-man.
"I followed a butterfly here and got lost," she explained.
"No problem," the monkey-man said. "We'll show you the way home tomorrow. Tonight you can stay with us at the home of Lord Monkey."
But when they got to Lord Monkey's home, he wasn't too thrilled to see Chimi.
"Why is that human here?" he asked his men. They told him they had invited her. The Monkey Lord gave Chimi a nasty look.
The monkeys danced and ate all night. Then everyone went to sleep. But the Lord Monkey's loud snoring kept Chimi up. Even worse, the snores sounded like words!
I will eat Chimi. I will eat Chimi. I will eat Chimi.
Chimi screamed and the Monkey Lord woke up. "You said you were going to eat me!" she cried.
"Don't be silly. Monkeys don't eat humans. Go back to sleep!" huffed Lord Monkey. He closed his eyes.
Soon, Chimi heard it again. I will eat Chimi. I will eat Chimi. The snores sounded like growls. She looked over at where Lord Monkey slept. But he was no longer a monkey. He had transformed into a jaguar!
Scared out of her wits, Chimi grabbed a torch and fled. She ran until daylight. Then she sat against a tree and cried.
"I hate this forest!" she said.
"Why?" asked a voice. Chimi looked up to see the beautiful morpho butterfly floating near her.
"Nothing here is what it seems!" Chimi explained. "Everything changes into something else."
The butterfly chided her. "This is the forest. We do things our own way here. You can't expect every world to be the same as your human one."
"Maybe you're right," said Chimi. "But I just want to go home."
"Then I'll take you," the butterfly said. "Follow me."
Eventually, they came to the banks of the Amazon River. "How will I get across?" Chimi asked. She had barely formed the question when her new winged friend began chanting magic words. Chimi found herself transformed into a butterfly.
"I'm a butterfly!" she exclaimed, stretching out her gorgeous wings. Chimi glided over the water with the butterfly. Soon, her house came into view. When Chimi touched the ground, she was a human again.
"Take me with you!" she cried to her winged friend. "I want to be a butterfly too!"
"You belong with your people," the butterfly told her gently. "But you've been one of us, so the forest will always live within you."
Then the butterfly flew away, and Chimi headed for home, feeling as free as a butterfly.
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