Juca stretched his long arms along the riverbank. He balanced his heavy tail on a flat rock. A blue-green butterfly drifted down from the trees.
It landed right on the tip of his nose. His eyes went wide. The butterfly's wings tickled his snout — he let out a loud giggle!
The next morning, Juca stretched to the same spot by the water. But no butterfly appeared. His giggle wouldn't come.
He sat very still by the river. The birds danced on the breeze, but no blue-green wings came. He thought: Where did you go?
Juca climbed the mossy bank to look for the butterfly. He stepped over bright orange flowers and listened to the birds call.
A blue jay whistled from a branch and pointed its wing toward a cluster of purple milkweed near the water's edge.
Juca waddled over and pressed his nose close to the purple petals. There she was — folded like a tiny sleeping hand.
She opened her wings and floated upward in a wobbly circle. Then she drifted straight back down and rested on his nose again. He giggled!
He giggled so hard his whole tail thumped against the grass. The birds seemed to dance a little faster around him.
Juca settled back on his flat rock and wrapped his long tail around his feet like a cozy blanket. The river shimmered gold. He closed his eyes with a happy smile.