Once upon a time there were two little kids, and in summer they used to catch big green cicadas, and collect their empty brown shells. one time they found a couple of those brown shells, but the cicadas were still inside. they could see them through the brown skin; their big eyes, and their fat green bodies, and their pale wings folded up by their sides. it was a hot day and the magpies were talking about eating cicadas. the kids took them inside and stuck them in a box, and every so often they looked to see if any were coming out.
One came out when they weren't watching and flew around their room. then they saw the others in the box. their shells were just starting to split open. the kids sat and watched as the pale green cicadas slowly, slowly pushed out; arching their backs and pushing with their legs to get their wet, white-green wings free from their shells. the kids watched for ages. in the nature shows the insects always came out of their shells much faster and it looked really easy. but the cicadas looked like they were stuck, halfway out of their cases, not getting anywhere. so the kids eased open the shells and helped them to get out, really gently because they were still soft.
Slowly the cicadas moved their legs, and walked around, and climbed onto things, and, got darker green as their bodies dried. They heard the cicadas outside and made their own cicada noises. But something was wrong with their wings. They had dried out now. They were clear like cicada wings, with cicada-wing veins in them, but they were all the wrong shapes.
Their wings had been all folded up inside their cases, like rumpled paper. As they were slowly pushing themselves out of their shells, they had been using the hard, brown walls to drag out all the crumples and make their wings their proper shape before they dried out. Instead, their wings had dried out the way they were when the kids had helped them - still all crumpled and heavy at the ends. One could fly little bits, and the other one couldn't fly at all. Now if the kids let them go outside the magpies would get them for sure.
By the time their Mum found out they were so hot-faced and ashamed. They almost didn't hear her making it into a lesson about how you don't interfere with nature, because everything in it has a reason and a place.
This is a true story. My Mum really was that together about the cicadas, and I have never forgotten their lesson. Sometimes they are my "patience" card with myself when I think am totally stuck ... and they help to remind me to let other people do their own unfolding.
Ruth Harlow
