Chapter 4
"I flew in through an open window," Mrs. Ladybug began. And she heaved a deep sigh, as if the telling of the tale was costing her much pain.
"I said nothing to anybody," she explained, "because I didn't wish to trouble the family. I knew I could find my way about the house after a little. And it wasn't long before I had discovered the stairway.
"I didn't walk on the stairs for fear there might be mud on my feet," said Mrs. Ladybug. "I didn't walk, but flew up to the second floor and went into the first chamber I saw. There was a fine, big closet off that room. The door leading into it was ajar; so I had no trouble slipping inside it. And there, high up on a broad shelf, I picked out the very spot where I could have spent the winter with every comfort in the world."
At this point Mrs. Ladybug was overcome by her feelings for a few moments. But the company waited politely until she could go on with her story.
She soon continued.
"All went well--" said Mrs. Ladybug--"all went well until one day--this morning, to be exact--Mrs. Green opened the closet door and began to brush and sweep and wipe and dust. I heard her say that she was doing her fall cleaning. And of course that pleased me; for I was glad to learn that she was a neat housekeeper.
"And then--" here Mrs. Ladybug's voice broke slightly--"and then, the first thing I knew she spied me and cried 'Ah, ha! A Carpet Bug!'
"The next instant she whisked me off the shelf with a brush. Of course I played dead the moment she touched me. And I fell into the dustpan and never so much as wriggled a toe.
"Soon afterward Mrs. Green set the dustpan beside the window which she had already opened. That was my chance. I seized it. I flew out of the window. And here I am."
Mrs. Ladybug's listeners shook their heads in sympathy.
"You had a narrow escape," they told her. "It's a wonder you got away."
"Yes!" said Mrs. Ladybug. "And I'm glad now that that window was open. But for a moment I didn't much care what became of me. To think that anybody should mistake me for a Carpet Bug! Mrs. Green ought to know that the Carpet Bug family are covered with black, white and red scales. Ugh!"
Mrs. Ladybug shuddered. She was smooth and shiny herself. So it wasn't strange that she should have felt insulted.
"Anyhow," she added, "Mrs. Green is the loser. Toward spring I would have kept her house plants free from insects. But now, of course, she'll have to do that herself."
"Well," said the neighbors (or words to this effect), "we're glad to see you again. And now--tell us!--where do you expect to spend the winter?"
"I'll let you decide that," Mrs. Ladybug replied.
THE END
* * * * *
TUCK-ME-IN TALES (Trademark Registered) By ARTHUR SCOTT BAILEY
AUTHOR OF THE SLEEPY-TIME TALES and SLUMBER-TOWN TALES
Colored Wrappers and Illustrations Drawn by HARRY L. SMITH
A delightful and unusual series of bird and insect stories for boys and girls from three to eight years old, or thereabouts.
THE TALE OF JOLLY ROBIN THE TALE OF OLD MR. CROW THE TALE OF SOLOMON OWL THE TALE OF JASPER JAY THE TALE OF RUSTY WREN THE TALE OF DADDY LONG-LEGS THE TALE OF KIDDIE KATYDID THE TALE OF BETSY BUTTERFLY THE TALE OF BUSTER BUMBLEBEE THE TALE OF FREDDIE FIREFLY THE TALE OF BOBBIE BOBOLINK THE TALE OF CHIRPY CRICKET THE TALE OF MRS. LADYBUG THE TALE OF REDDY WOODPECKER THE TALE OF GRANDMA GOOSE
GROSSET & DUNLAP, _Publishers_, NEW YORK
* * * * *
THE LITTLE WASHINGTONS SERIES
Handsomely Bound. Colored Wrappers. Illustrated. For Children 6 to 12 Years
This series presents early American history in a manner that impresses the young readers. George and Martha Washington Parke, two young descendants of the famous General Washington, follow in play, the life of the great American.
THE LITTLE WASHINGTONS
Their thrilling battles and expeditions generally end in "punishment" lessons read by Mrs. Parke from the "Life of Washington." The culprits listen intently, for this reading generally gives them new ideas for further games of Indian warfare and Colonists battles.
THE LITTLE WASHINGTONS' RELATIVES
The Davis children visit the Parke home and join zealously in the games of playing George Washington. So zealously, in fact, that little Jim almost loses his scalp.
THE LITTLE WASHINGTONS' TRAVELS
The children wage a fierce battle upon the roof of a hotel in New York City. Then, visiting the Davis home in Philadelphia, the patriotic Washingtons vanquish the Hessians on a battle-field in the empty lot back of the Davis property.
THE LITTLE WASHINGTONS AT SCHOOL
After the school-house battle the Washingtons discover a band of gypsies camping near their homes and incidentally they recover a stolen horse which the gypsies had taken from a farmer.
THE LITTLE WASHINGTONS' HOLIDAYS
They spend a pleasant summer on adjoining farms in Vermont. During a voyage they try to capture a "frigate" but little Jim is caught and about to be punished by the Captain when his confederates save him.
THE LITTLE WASHINGTONS; FARMERS
Nero, the donkey, had never heard of George Washington, and so the game the children had planned after reading the story of the General's life on his farm turned out to be quite a different game altogether.
Grosset & Dunlap, _Publishers_, New York