Free as a butterfly

When I opened the door this morning to let Freja out, a tortoiseshell butterfly flapped in at ground level. Freja showed a little too much interest, so I kept her back and encouraged the insect towards the door. It didn't seem to want to fly. It flapped out on to the back step, so I picked it up and threw it into the air. Away it flew. I wondered how long it was going to survive, but it struck me that there is nothing that appears to fly as freely as does a butterfly.

Freja didn't even want to go out, at least not until the rain had gone off.