# The Butterfly — Just So Stories character guide

> The Butterfly in Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Butterfly, the bad little Butterfly, the little Butterfly

**First appearance:** 0011-the-butterfly-that-stamped

## Snapshot

A boastful little Butterfly who claims one stamp of his foot can vanish Suleiman's palace — then is dared by his wife to prove it.

## Who they are

The Butterfly is a small, puffed-up creature in Suleiman-bin-Daoud's garden who has promised the King he will not stamp, and has boasted to his wife that he can. His wife, egged on by Balkis, calls his bluff, and the Butterfly finds himself trapped between a broken promise and a lifetime of being laughed at. His predicament is the story's comic pivot: the moment Suleiman stops showing off and does something kind instead, turning a boast into a genuine miracle for the sake of a very small creature.

## Relationships

### [Suleiman-bin-Daoud](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/just_so_stories_se/characters/suleiman_bin_daoud)

_friendship_

Suleiman-bin-Daoud and The Butterfly share a respectful, curious friendship, with the butterfly often seeking the king's wisdom.

### [Suleiman-bin-Daoud](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/just_so_stories_se/characters/suleiman_bin_daoud)

_friendship_

Suleiman-bin-Daoud and The Butterfly share a respectful, curious friendship, with the butterfly often seeking the king's wisdom.

### [Suleiman-bin-Daoud](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/just_so_stories_se/characters/suleiman_bin_daoud)

_friendship_

Suleiman-bin-Daoud and The Butterfly share a respectful, curious friendship, with the butterfly often seeking the king's wisdom.

## In the story

### [The Butterfly That Stamped](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/just_so_stories_se/chapters/the-butterfly-that-stamped)

A small but clever butterfly who boasts to his wife that he can destroy the palace with a stamp.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/just_so_stories_se/characters/the_butterfly
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/just_so_stories_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/just_so_stories_se/characters