"The Dog and the Butterfly" provides a modern collection of 12 fables. Written in the established tradition of fables, the animal characters speak and learn from their exploits and experiences. Their adventures mirror our own, and so the fables provide learning situations. These life lessons become important learning devices for children as they grow into adults and develop their own ideas and approaches to life.

A young field mouse learns that it is not enough to just think about what could or might be accomplished in life. Instead, what the mouse actually does matters. An old dog does not want to be bothered by a young pup until he realizes the pup was much like him and he remembers his own youth. A young and an old horned toad think about the beautiful things in life and how they fit into the wonders of nature. An old squirrel tells a tale to his grandchildren and leaves them with the idea that they should leave the forest a better place than they found it.

A wide variety of animal characters find themselves in situations where they discover things about themselves or the world around them. What they find can be useful for us all, and so these make excellent tales for bedtime stories even for children who are not yet old enough to read for themselves.