A Native Story of Transformation

​A Native story of transformation, which has been passed down through the generations, tells of a man and his son, who were walking through the outback when the boy suddenly fell ill. The father had built a shelter to protect his son, and then he left to find food and medicinal plants, which took a few days. When the father finally returned, his son was gone. In despair, he leaned against a tree for support during his anguish, and through his tears he noticed a cocoon in its branches. He knew that the cocoon represented the shelter he had built for his son, and his tears stopped, for he realized then that the boy’s spirit would soon be released as a butterfly.