The Butterfly Lion

Millie and Bertie never have children. The White Lion roams free in the estate’s massive garden, though he never hunts on his own. They give the lion a good life.

Bertie’s leg never recovers from his war injury, so he often leans on the lion for support. They walk to Wood Hill, where Millie flies her kite as Bertie and The White Prince sit on the grass and watch. The lion stays by Bertie’s side, just as they did in their childhood. Eventually, the lion loses his eyesight and his health fades. He dies in the kitchen, sitting at Bertie’s feet. They bury him in the garden, at the bottom of the hill, where they can see him from the kitchen window.

Bertie’s heart is broken after the lion’s death, and he grows distant. One day he rushes toward the kitchen waving for Millie. Bertie wants to carve The White Prince in the hillside, giving him immortality. Bertie’s project raises his spirits. Together, they spend the next 20 years cutting into the hillside to form the shape of the lion.

After the lion is finished, the butterflies come. Adonis Blues drink from the chalk in the hillside, and their fluttering wings give life to the white lion memorialized there.