Here are the four cards again. The hard case on the twig is the chrysalis.

A butterfly, an egg, a chrysalis, a caterpillar: still out of order.

First, find the beginning. A life cycle begins with an egg, or a seed.

Here that is the egg. The egg goes first.

Next, put the young before the grown-up.

The caterpillar is the young one. The butterfly is the grown-up.

So the caterpillar goes second, and the chrysalis, in between, goes third.

Last, end with the grown-up making the next beginning: the butterfly, which lays eggs.

In order: 1 an egg, 2 a caterpillar, 3 a chrysalis, 4 a butterfly, which lays eggs.

The butterfly's life as a ring. The last arrow comes back to the egg.