Butterflies and Mince Pies

        Two kittens were sitting in the kitchen of the house where they lived. Cooling on the windowsill next to a spoon was a fresh, warm, mince pie. It smelled delicious!
        "Mmm!" Said the younger of the two kittens. "That mince pie is making me feel hungry! Shall we creep up and eat it?"
        "Don't be silly," answered his sister. "Pussy cats don't eat mince pies! Butterflies eat mince pies."
        The younger kitten didn't believe her, because she often told him stories that she'd muddled all up.
        "I've never seen a butterfly eat a mince pie," he said.
        "That's because butterflies are so fast," she smiled. "When a butterfly sees a mince pie, it doesn't mess about. It just opens its mouth wide and gulps the lot down at once.
        "Doesn't it even chew it first?" asked her brother.
        "No no no no no, it swallows it whole! CHOMP! Gone!"
        The younger kitten still didn't believe his sister, but he had to admit that her tale did sound convincing.
        "I think you're telling fibs," he said, hesitantly.
        "Me? Fibbing? How can you say that?" she asked. "Look, here comes a butterfly now, let's see what it does.
        The two kittens climbed onto the kitchen table and watched.
        At first, the butterfly fluttered around merrily without noticing the mince pie. Then, the mouth-watering smell reached its nose! Straight away, it turned around and flew towards the window. It looked about, then carefully landed on the windowsill. It sneaked up to the warm, mince pie.
        The mince pie suddenly lifted up its lid, and snapped it shut on the butterfly.
        "Oh!" said the younger kitten.
        "Oh!" said his sister.

So

That explains why the insides of mince pies look the way they do.

Illustration by Roy Bartle
Image size: approx. 76K.