Girl and Butterfly[1]
By Ransom G. Williams
Annotations by Jessica ABell
Little Amelia accidentally caught a butterfly, in picking some flowers. But she did not wish to keep it prisoner. So she opened her hand and let it fly. Do you not think she felt more joy in giving it liberty than she could have felt in keeping it?
Williams, Ransom G. “Girl and Butterfly.” Slave’s Friend, vol. 3, no. 7, July 1838, pp. 2.
Little Girl with a Butterfly. http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47da-7557-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99. Accessed 24 Oct. 2020.
[1] Originally published in The Slave’s Friend.
Contexts
The Slave’s Friend is a children’s abolitionist periodical/pamphlet produced from 1836-1838 by Ransom G. Williams for the American Anti-Slavery Society (AASS). The periodical was a mix of poetry, stories, anti-slavery writings and woodcut prints to speak to children. These writings were written for young children to understand the wrongs of slavery.
Its publication is over 20 years before the start of the Civil War (April 1861-May 1865).
Resources for Further Study
Pedagogy
“Girl and Butterfly” was included in The Slave’s Friend to provoke the minds of children to consider one’s right to freedom. This very short story of the girl who when catching the butterfly does “not wish to keep it prisoner” ultimately sets it free, is a likened to freedom for slaves.
- Why does the girl feel the butterfly should be free?
- How would the girl keeping the butterfly be like keeping it prisoner?
Contemporary Connections
- “Caged Bird” by Maya Angelou
