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Dreams of Butterflies
A collection of 7 short stories labeled with the days of the week, treating cultural aspects of life in Morocco, and written by a Moroccan English teacher.
"We can't treat gorgeous butterflies as we used to treat cobras, scorpions and snakes. Unlike flies, these butterflies are created to live in democratic gardens of beauty, freedom, justice and good citizenship. Our mission, as educators and writers, is to teach this generation of hope and peace to see the world and life with the eyes of butterflies. Our task number one is to stop seeing our country through the lens of blind and filthy flies and to create a suitable environment for our national butterflies to liven to dream, and to fly" The author.
"We can't treat gorgeous butterflies as we used to treat cobras, scorpions and snakes. Unlike flies, these butterflies are created to live in democratic gardens of beauty, freedom, justice and good citizenship. Our mission, as educators and writers, is to teach this generation of hope and peace to see the world and life with the eyes of butterflies. Our task number one is to stop seeing our country through the lens of blind and filthy flies and to create a suitable environment for our national butterflies to liven to dream, and to fly" The author.
66 pages, Paperback
Published February 14, 2021
4 people are currently reading
78 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
July 3, 2021
The author is a teacher of English as a Foreign Language in the South of Morocco. His work reflects human values that we are reminded of through tales of simple village people struggling with the difficulties of everyday life. The work is short, and somewhat poetic. It is suitable for all ages and could be used to teach values at the same time as teaching English.
August 8, 2021
Dreams of Butterflies is a book of seven short stories about life in Morocco, written by Rachid Khouya, who is an English teacher of many years in southern Morocco. Each of the stories is a parable, with a unique set of characters in various rural and urban settings. Through the characters’ eyes, we see various life situations and what the characters learn; we see what society can learn from what the characters experience, and we can see how these same lessons are applicable to the world at large.
While most of the characters are human, allegories to animals are also used—for example, butterflies, flies, snakes, lions, sheep, or eagles, among others. To me, butterflies refer both to young people and their dreams, as well as to any person who still has the qualities of hope for the future, kindness, gentleness, helpfulness; or who is searching to improve their own life, or that of society, in a positive way. Flies refer to base emotions and motivations, as well as the people whose thoughts and actions embody those qualities—jealousy, selfishness, greed, laziness; lying to escape personal responsibility or for personal gain.
These stories deal with moral issues, points of wisdom about life, and even some injustices. Some examples:
- Striving for personal status (or power) over others
- Looking at and criticizing others’ behavior, before taking care to correct your own thoughts and behavior
- Many people have unrealistic expectations; not everyone can be on top; not everyone has the necessary talent, or is willing to put in the necessary work to rise to a higher position in life
- We all have a mixture of beautiful butterflies, and ugly flies, populating our lives—we need to encourage the butterflies, while tolerating the flies
- Both parents and teachers have a very special role in society, that of nurturing society’s future butterflies
- Everyone is important and has a place in the community, no matter how menial his or her role seems to others
- Parents’ dreams and expectations for their children often do not match their children’s dreams and expectations
- Not only in Morocco, but the world over, and throughout history in every civilization, the older generation looks at the younger generations and wonders what the world is coming to; whether in the village, or the city, as children leave their parents for a new way or place in life, the parents are left feeling, “I just wanted my children to come back home and be with me.”
- Some children, as yet uncorrupted by the world, can say wise things, if only parents and adults will listen; the youth are our hope for humanity’s better future
- One reason girls need an education is that when they grow up and come into positions of power (within the family or elsewhere), they often use that power and education more wisely than uneducated men do; if more women were in power, we probably would have fewer wars
All of the stories were excellent, but I did have two favorites. In The Teacher and the Taxi Driver, the driver starts an idle conversation with a teacher. The teacher, by taking the question seriously, and by providing a most excellent answer, makes a small transformation in the taxi driver’s life. In When Girls Speak English, a traditional father pins his hopes for the family on his foolish son; yet his daughter is the one who transforms the family.
One final note, speaking as both a parent and a teacher, this would be a great book for parents to read with their children, and for students to read in English classes. The stories are all a springboard for great discussions. The topics are appropriate for age 10 and up, but new English learners may not have the vocabulary for the book until age 14 or higher. The book contains seven short stories and 65 pages of easy-reading size text.
While most of the characters are human, allegories to animals are also used—for example, butterflies, flies, snakes, lions, sheep, or eagles, among others. To me, butterflies refer both to young people and their dreams, as well as to any person who still has the qualities of hope for the future, kindness, gentleness, helpfulness; or who is searching to improve their own life, or that of society, in a positive way. Flies refer to base emotions and motivations, as well as the people whose thoughts and actions embody those qualities—jealousy, selfishness, greed, laziness; lying to escape personal responsibility or for personal gain.
These stories deal with moral issues, points of wisdom about life, and even some injustices. Some examples:
- Striving for personal status (or power) over others
- Looking at and criticizing others’ behavior, before taking care to correct your own thoughts and behavior
- Many people have unrealistic expectations; not everyone can be on top; not everyone has the necessary talent, or is willing to put in the necessary work to rise to a higher position in life
- We all have a mixture of beautiful butterflies, and ugly flies, populating our lives—we need to encourage the butterflies, while tolerating the flies
- Both parents and teachers have a very special role in society, that of nurturing society’s future butterflies
- Everyone is important and has a place in the community, no matter how menial his or her role seems to others
- Parents’ dreams and expectations for their children often do not match their children’s dreams and expectations
- Not only in Morocco, but the world over, and throughout history in every civilization, the older generation looks at the younger generations and wonders what the world is coming to; whether in the village, or the city, as children leave their parents for a new way or place in life, the parents are left feeling, “I just wanted my children to come back home and be with me.”
- Some children, as yet uncorrupted by the world, can say wise things, if only parents and adults will listen; the youth are our hope for humanity’s better future
- One reason girls need an education is that when they grow up and come into positions of power (within the family or elsewhere), they often use that power and education more wisely than uneducated men do; if more women were in power, we probably would have fewer wars
All of the stories were excellent, but I did have two favorites. In The Teacher and the Taxi Driver, the driver starts an idle conversation with a teacher. The teacher, by taking the question seriously, and by providing a most excellent answer, makes a small transformation in the taxi driver’s life. In When Girls Speak English, a traditional father pins his hopes for the family on his foolish son; yet his daughter is the one who transforms the family.
One final note, speaking as both a parent and a teacher, this would be a great book for parents to read with their children, and for students to read in English classes. The stories are all a springboard for great discussions. The topics are appropriate for age 10 and up, but new English learners may not have the vocabulary for the book until age 14 or higher. The book contains seven short stories and 65 pages of easy-reading size text.
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July 6, 2021Rachid Khouya, the author of the baby butterflies, is a light-hearted man of a great sense of humor. His butterflies are his way of showing the reader how misled we are in this so-called life, and how short it is to waste it on hating each other. It's high time we looked at the bright side and invested in our baby butterflies instead of empowering the dirty flies. Good luck to you si Rachid 🦋
July 7, 2021
Haven't gotten the chance to read it yet, but heard good things about it.
July 6, 2021
the storytelling style let you live with the characters. it looks like a halka in Jamaa Lefna
Read
July 6, 2021Load of thanks dear outstanding author, Rachid Khouya for such amazing and beneficial butterflies.
July 7, 2021
A great book by a great writer and a great human.
Good luck brother
Good luck brother
July 6, 2021
The book is a collection of stories which take the reader into a journey to discover different personas and perspectives about life, freedom, justice, and citizenship . It also rings a bell for us as readers to question common sense and ponder upon many things we tend to take for granted. I definitely recommend reading this interesting work. 👍
July 7, 2021
This is my first collection of short stories. I would like all the readers to enjoy the beauty of ideas, inspiring stories and the simple language. The book can be used by teachers of English to teach both language and human values. We should see life and the world with the eyes of the butterflies instead of seeing it with the eyes of the flies.
Want to read
July 6, 2021Amazing 🤩 stories
Creative
Creative
June 25, 2024
It is a collection of valuable short stories. Every story has a deep message.. I enjoyed reading it in 2022.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews