The story follows a caterpillar that hatches from an egg on a leaf and spends the week eating through various fruits to try and satisfy its hunger, eating one apple on Monday, two pears on Tuesday, and so on. By Saturday, the caterpillar has eaten through a large variety of foods and gets a stomachache. The next day, the caterpillar eats a leaf and feels better, having grown into a big fat caterpillar. It then spins a cocoon and emerges two weeks later as a beautiful butterfly.

1. The Very Hungry Caterpillar
By Eric Carle

2. In the light on the moon a little egg lay on a leaf.

3. One Sunday morning, the warm sun came up
and POP! – out of the egg came a tiny and very
hungry caterpillar.

4. He started to look for some food.
On Monday he ate through one apple,
But he was still hungry.

5. On Tuesday,
he ate through two pears,
But he was still hungry.

6. On Wednesday,
he ate through three plums,
But he was still hungry.

7. But he was still hungry.
On Thursday,
he ate through four strawberries,

8. But he was still hungry.
On Friday,
he ate through five oranges,

9. 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!

10. The next day was Sunday again. The
caterpillar ate through one nice green
leaf.
And after that he felt much better.

11. But now he wasn’t hungry anymore.
And he wasn’t a little caterpillar
anymore.
He was a big fat caterpillar.

12. He built a small house around himself,
called a Cocoon,
And he stayed inside for more than two weeks.

13. Then he nibbled a hole in the cocoon, pushed
his way out, and

14. He was a beautiful butterfly.

15. The End