Chapter One
In the light
of the moon
a little egg
lay on a leaf.
One Sunday morning the warm sun came up and-pop!-out of the egg
came a tiny and very hungry caterpillar.
He started to look for some food.
On Monday
he ate through
one apple.
But he was still
hungry.
He started to look for some food.
On Tuesday
he ate through
two pears,
but he was
still hungry.
He started to look for some food.
On Wednesday
he ate through
three plums,
but he was still
hungry.
He started to look for some food.
On Thursday
he ate through
four strawberries,
but he was still
hungry.
On Friday
he ate through
five oranges,
but he was still
hungry.
On Saturday
he ate through
one piece of
chocolate cake, one ice-cream cone, one pickle, one slice of Swiss cheese, one
slice of salami,
one lollipop, one piece of cherry pie, one sausage, one cupcake, and one slice
of watermelon.
That night he had a stomachache!
The next day was Sunday again.
The caterpillar ate through
one nice green leaf,
and after that he felt
much better.
Now he wasn't hungry any more-and he wasn't a little caterpillar any more.
He was a big, fat caterpillar.
He built a small house, called a cocoon, around himself. He stayed inside for
more than two weeks. Then he nibbled a hole in the cocoon, pushed his way out
and ...
he was a beautiful butterfly!
(Continues...)
Excerpted from THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR
by Eric Carle
Copyright © 1987 by Eric Carle.
Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Copyright © 1987
Eric Carle
All right reserved.
