When he got home from work, the man called his daughter's name.
"Abby, daddy has a surprise for you," he announced in a loud voice as he removed the plastic container from his pocket. The trapped butterfly imprisoned within the container continued to flap its wings.
A small girl with a long braid of hair showed up. "What is it?" Abby asked curiously.
Her father handed her the container. He knew that she had been having some adjustment problems with starting kindergarten and hoped his gift might help her with her socialization in the class.
"It's pretty," she said.
"You can take it to show and tell," her father said. "You were complaining last week that all the other kids had better show and tell things."
She smiled. "Everyone will love my butterfly," she said.
"Take it to your room," he said. "I'll find something bigger for a home for it. Maybe an old pickle jar will work."
Inside the cramped plastic container, poor Jeff's wings felt very tired. He kept pleading mutely for someone to let him out. Despite his protests otherwise, as far as the world was concerned, he was a bug and not a boy.