Obi And The Butterfly

Obi rode his bicycle home from school one bright and sunny day in a very fierce way. He rode his bike up and down the hills, shouting as he landed. He stuck his feet out and leaned backwards. He howled like a raging beast. He rang his bell with a clanging warning. And he swerved from side to side like an out of control driver.

When he got in front of the house, he kept ringing pounding on bicycle bell, until out came bounding Cannubi. The big brown dog with the black patch on his head came flying out of the back gate. His dark eyes shinned and his face-smiling if any dog could smile. “Woof,” said Cannubi, as he wagged his tail with his big body standing behind the bike. He looked up at Obi’s brown eyes as if he were saying: “Take me to the park! Let’s go for a run! Let’s go chase the birds and squirrels!”

Obi must have read his mind, cause he reached down and patted the dog on the head and said, “Let me get some water Cannubi, and then we’ll go to the park.” And then he bounded into the house striding on giant steps.

“Mom!” Obi cried out. “I’m home!”

Obi’s mom turned the corner wiping her hands on an apron that was constantly around her waist. “Well there you are son. I thought you’d never get home.”

“Sorry Mom,” Obi said apologetically, “I just had so much fun riding my bike that I forgot how late I was.”

He hung his head down not wanting to meet his mother’s eyes.

“You know what I say about boys who don’t tell their mother’s where they’re at? She said looking down at him.

“Uh huh,” said Obi. “They get dinner and no dessert.”

“That’s right. Now what do you think I should do?”

“But Momma,” said Obi in his littlest voice. “I really didn’t do anything but take my time. And you always told me that I should take my time and smell the flowers. I was just enjoying riding my bike. Please!”

“Well I’ll take that in consideration. Now get what you want and tell me where you’re off to.”

Obi went and pulled a bottle of cold water out of the refrigerator, then ran over and bussed his mom on the cheek. “I’m going out to the field and play with Cannubi.”

Now, ‘going to the field’, with Cannubi could mean a whole world of things, from looking for bugs, to building invisible fortresses against monsters from other worlds. So when Obi told that to his mother, she just nodded her head and smiled. “Okay then, but be back for dinner.” Then she pointed to the clock reminding him of the length of time.

Obi was already out the door. He knew the drill. He knew the length of time; it was the same everyday after school. Today was the same as any other day, only no snack. Outside, Cannubi hopped up and down so with so much excitement that he practically knocked Obi off his bike. “Okay fella. Okay, we’re going. We’re going.” And off he pedaled.

The field was a large wooded area; a place that some day would be filled by tract homes, but for now was a haven for all sorts of small animals and critters. It had trees, and underbrush, and hidden pools of water, all the proper ingredients for a growing boy. And Obi knew all the spots.

Today was a bike day, and on bike days there was an area that he had packed and built with dirt so he could hop his bike up and down with the fury and excitement of those motocross racers saw on television. “Come on Cannubi! We’re gonna be doing double jumps!”

Cannubi wouldn’t have anything to do with the jumps. When Obi would do that kind of stuff, Cannubi was off into the brushes trying to find small animals and scare the life out of them. Rabbits would tremble, squirrels would chatter, and birds would twitter above the ground in fearful gossip. Cannubi loved it. He was the master of the whole field. And he ran from place to place barking and charging into the brushes.

Obi was over doing his jumps. He put branches between the moguls and tried to jump over them. He imagined that they were giant logs and rows of cars. Then when he made it to the other side of the mogul he would raise his arms above his head and make the cheering noises as if had he vanquished all that was below him.

Cannubi was over scaring the wildlife, and having the time of his life. “Woof!” Went Cannubi, and the birds scattered for fear of their life. The dog smiled like a dog would. Obi stood on one side, conqueror of the hills, and Cannubi stood on the other side, master of the beasts. And for that moment in time, all was right and perfect in that field.

Then a yellow butterfly fluttered by.

It flew past Obi, not in a straight line, but in a direction. It wobbled over the brushes and the moguls and past the shrubbier trees until it landed on the head of Cannubi. There it rested, with much aplomb, like a dollop of yellow paint. “Woof,” went Cannubi, but to no avail. He tipped his head from side to side as if the movement would bring the butterfly to its senses, but the butterfly stuck to his head like a yellow-blobbed tiara. Cannubi didn’t look fierce with the butterfly on his head, and the squirrels tittered in laughter. The birds tweeted with humor and the other ground animals rolled on their backs and howled with glee.

Cannubi walked over to Obi who was fixing the chain on his bike. The butterfly stuck to the top of his head like a yellow crown as he moved next to Obi. Obi looked up and saw the dog crowned with the butterfly. He laughed, and then he laughed some more. He pointed at the dog and held his stomach as he fell down howling. “Cannubi you’ve got a butterfly stuck on your head.”

Cannubi sat on his haunches and cocked his head to one side, then woofed as if he were asking a question. Why is the butterfly on my head?

But before the question could be answered, the butterfly got up and wobbled away, as curiously as it had landed. And Obi and Cannubi both sat on the ground quietly listening to the sounds of the field as all things were as perfect as they were supposed to be.