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"The Butterfly that Stamped" is part of a series of books known as Just So Stories (1902) by Rudyard Kipling. [1] These are collected short stories. The stories explain how things supposedly came to be.
"The Butterfly that Stamped" is one of the stories that is about King Solomon, his lovely wife Balkis, the Queen of Sheba (she is the one he is in love with, and she loves him, in most versions the others are there just because he is king and has to have more wives than anyone else), his other nine-hundred ninety nine wives, and two charming, but quarrelsome, butterflies. Solomon (who mainly goes by Suleiman bin Daoud in the story) is a very wise man, but is very annoyed with his surplus wives and all their quarreling. He thinks they are very loud and ungrateful. He refuses to use his magic to do anything about it because he believes it is just showing off, something he swore to refrain from doing after an embarrassing moment when he provided a feast for all life only for it to be devoured by a sea monster named "Small Porgies."
One day, when walking in his forest, Suleiman bin Daoud stumbles upon two butterflies arguing. The male butterfly tells his wife he could stamp his foot and the huge palace garden would disappear in a bid to control her because she is quarreling with him, and as he tells the king "you know how women are." Suleiman bin Daoud finds the claim amusing and calls the butterfly over. After asking the butterfly why he lied, he tells the butterfly that if he has to, he will help him.
Meanwhile, Balkis has a talk with the butterfly's wife, who says she is only pretending to agree with him, because "you know how men are." Balkis tells her she should dare her husband to stamp his foot, as he must be lying, and then she can argue with him again. Really, she is hoping the disappearance of the palace will shock the other wives into obedience.
The female butterfly dares her husband, and the butterfly prevaricates by telling her the king called him over to ask him not to, because he is afraid of the butterfly. The wife insists he stamps, and he goes to the king, who tells him he will make it happen to help control his wife, sympathizing with the butterfly's plight. The butterfly stamps and the palace disappears.
This makes the butterfly's wife scared, and she promises never to argue with him again as long as he brings it back, leaving Solomon in fits of laughter. But when the garden vanishes, Solomon's quarrelling wives are deathly afraid, believing that the king is dead and the heavens are mourning the news. Balkis claims it was the butterfly who was angry at his wife, and they realise that "if the king will do this for the sake of a tiny butterfly, what will he do to us, we who have been making him miserable with our quarreling," and they in turn become scared of Solomon's powers, and are nice and quiet from then on.
Balkis then explains to Solomon what had happened, and how it was all for his benefit, for if he will do all this for the sake of a butterfly, it cannot be wrong to help himself occasionally, and they return to the palace.
The Book of Samuel is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books in the Old Testament. The book is part of the Deuteronomistic history, a series of books that constitute a theological history of the Israelites and that aim to explain God's law for Israel under the guidance of the prophets.
The Book of Kings is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. It concludes the Deuteronomistic history, a history of ancient Israel also including the books of Joshua, Judges, and Samuel.
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Just So Stories for Little Children is a 1902 collection of origin stories by the British author Rudyard Kipling. Considered a classic of children's literature, the book is among Kipling's best known works.
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The Ring of Solomon is a children's novel of alternate history, fantasy and magic. It is a prequel to the Bartimaeus trilogy, written by British author Jonathan Stroud. The first edition (paperback) was published in Oct. 2010 by Doubleday in UK.
Rewards and Fairies is a historical fantasy book by Rudyard Kipling published in 1910. The title comes from the poem "Farewell, Rewards and Fairies" by Richard Corbet, which was referred to by the children in the first story of Kipling's earlier book Puck of Pook's Hill. Rewards and Fairies, a followup to Puck, is set one year later, although it was published four years afterwards.
Banai, also known as Banu and Banu-bai, is a Hindu goddess and the second wife of Khandoba, a form of the god Shiva worshipped in the Deccan – predominantly in the Indian states of Maharashtra and Karnataka. Khandoba is portrayed as a king of Jejuri, where his chief temple stands. Some traditions do not give her the status of a legal wife and treat her as a concubine of Khandoba.
Biblical Egypt, or Mizraim, is a theological term used by historians and scholars to differentiate between Ancient Egypt as it is portrayed in Judeo-Christian texts and what is known about the region based on archaeological evidence. Along with Canaan, Egypt is one of the most commonly mentioned locations in the Bible, and its people, the Egyptians, play important roles in the story of the Israelites. Although interaction between Egypt and nearby Semitic-speaking peoples is attested in archaeological sources, they do not otherwise corroborate the biblical account.
Inhyeon wanghu jeon is a novel written in Hangul about Queen Inhyeon (1667–1701), the second queen consort of King Sukjong of Joseon (1661–1720). She becomes queen and moves into the royal palace, only to be dethroned due to the slander by Jang Hui-bin, the King's concubine. But later, she clears her name and comes back to the palace. The novel is based on a true story.
The Turtle Prince or The Tortoise Prince is a group of South Indian and Sri Lankan folktales in which a prince in turtle form marries a human princess. Scholars like Stith Thompson, Warren Roberts and Stuart Blackburn have related the story and variants to the international cycle of the Animal as Bridegroom.
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