Arthur Scott Bailey

“ Mr. Cricket Frog had a trick not unlike the one that Mrs. Ladybug herself played upon him. Whenever a fish, or any other enemy, came near him, if he hadn't time to hide in the mud at the bottom of the pond Mr. Cricket Frog played dead. He would float in the water as if lifeless, until his [Pg 81] enemy had gone off about his business.
He was so timid—this Mr. Cricket Frog—that when he saw a stranger he would sometimes play dead. And that was exactly what happened when he caught sight of Mrs. Ladybug as she clung to the grass stalk near the edge of the duck pond and stared at him. ”

“ Not only was Betsy Butterfly a beautiful creature. She was pleasant to everybody. And almost all her neighbors were just as pleasant to her. Mrs. Ladybug was one of the few that were sometimes disagreeable to Betsy. For Mrs. Ladybug did not approve of her. She thought that Betsy Butterfly was frivolous. And she frowned whenever she saw Betsy in her beautiful costume.
"She never wears working clothes," Mrs. Ladybug often complained, when talking to her friends. ”

“ Ladybug smiled an odd sort of smile as she answered, "The fire alarm, of course! Everybody's always talking fire to me. It makes me frightfully uneasy. There's so little one can do alone in case of fire. ”

“ A HANDSOME STRANGER
Little Mrs. Ladybug was too excited to work. Ever since meeting the stranger in the orchard she had been able to think of nothing but him. Perhaps if she hadn't happened to notice his carpetbag, with the words, "P. Bug, Colorado," upon its side, she might not have been so stirred up.
Anyhow, Mrs. Ladybug kept wondering what business had brought the stranger to Pleasant Valley. She wished she could find out what he was going to do in the potato patch. ”

“ Here I work my hardest to save the leaves by ridding them of tiny insects that feed upon them—insects that suck the juices from the leaves and make them wither. And there's Jennie Junebug, trying her best to destroy the leaves that I save.... It's enough to make an honest person weep."
Perhaps Jennie Junebug wasn't so bad, at heart, as Mrs. Ladybug thought her. Maybe she was merely a gay, careless creature who never stopped to consider that she was injuring Farmer Green when she hurt his trees. At least, that was what some of Mrs. Ladybug's other neighbors sometimes remarked. ”

“ The next day Buster Bumblebee set out for the orchard to find Mrs. Ladybug. He wanted to warn her to stop talking about Betsy Butterfly. But Buster hadn't realized that it was not an easy matter to say anything to Mrs. Ladybug. Mrs. Ladybug always liked to do most of the talking herself. She preferred to let others listen.
He found her hard at work destroying insects on an old apple tree. And when she caught sight of him Mrs. Ladybug paused in her labors. ”

“ Jennie Junebug heard everything he said. She was lying hidden in the grass near-by. And she wouldn't have come out for anything.
"I'll keep an eye out for her," Solomon Owl announced. "I come to the meadow often, a-mousing."
Jennie Junebug kept still as a mouse, herself, until Solomon had gone back to the woods. Then she stole forth from her hiding place, showing a battered face to her friends.
"Good-by, everybody!" she called. "I'm going to move. I'm going 'way down to the end of the valley to live.... I'm off already," she added, as she spread her wings. ”

“ The cabbages began to puff their heads out as if they felt of some importance in the world. And the potato vines were actually pretty, with their white blossoms amid the green leaves. Farmer Green was very proud of his potatoes. He said, in Mrs. Ladybug's hearing, that they were the best he had ever raised.
"I must fly over to the garden and have [Pg 27] a look at those potatoes," Mrs. Ladybug thought. "It's always a pleasure to see flourishing crops."
Before she found time to spare for her visit to the garden a traveler entered the orchard one day. ”

“ Ladybug was saying. "She never had any quarters, so far as anyone knows. Mrs. Ladybug hasn't been able to tear herself away [Pg 99] from the orchard long enough to live anywhere except in the apple trees."
It was plain that Daddy Longlegs' wife didn't believe what Mrs. Ladybug was telling her neighbors. And there were many more folk that agreed with her.
Little Mrs. Ladybug smiled a knowing smile when she heard what her friends thought.
"They'll see! They'll see!" she said. "I'm going to spend the winter in the biggest and finest house on this farm." ”

“ So Chirpy Cricket was specially eager to find her and make known to her what he had learned.
It was about Mrs. Ladybug's cousin. At least, there was a person living in the vegetable garden who claimed to be a cousin of Mrs. Ladybug's.
Chirpy found Mrs. Ladybug in the orchard. But strange to say, she didn't [Pg 46] seem at all interested in his news.
"I dare say I have a cousin in the garden," she told him. "Ours is a big family. I have more cousins than I could ever count. They're as plentiful as the leaves on the trees. ”

“ P. Bug is a hard worker and he doesn't care for show. He's a plain person. No [Pg 34] doubt he put on that yellow coat to travel in, because it's his best. But he'll wear overalls, perhaps, if he starts to work in the potato patch—as I suspect he will."
At last, however, Mrs. Ladybug met with a rude shock. She was telling her news to Peppery Polly Bumblebee, one of the workers in the hive ruled by Buster Bumblebee's mother, the well-known Queen. And to Mrs. Ladybug's amazement, when she related the name of the stranger, and the place he came from, Peppery Polly laughed in her face. ”

“ And if they hadn't worked lively there's no telling how far the fire would have spread. As it was, glowing bits came sailing down from the hill and settled in the valley. But luckily they did no damage. At least, no other fire had started anywhere when the men came home from the woods and said that all was safe again.
Some of the small folk that lived in the fields knew what was going on. But Mrs. Ladybug never guessed that there had been a fire. She was so busy, working among the apple trees, that she hadn't noticed any unusual stir. ”

“ Mrs. Ladybug retorted. "The sooner you get such silly notions out of your head, the better off you'll be. Everybody ought to work. Too much play is bad for folks."
Buster Bumblebee could feel himself flushing. The neighbors were not expected to address a Queen's son in that fashion.
"That's exactly the way you talk about Betsy Butterfly!" he exploded.
"Huh!" Mrs. Ladybug sniffed. "You are a worthless pair. ”

“ 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. [Pg 116] And now—tell us!—where do you expect to spend the winter?"
"I'll let you decide that," Mrs. Ladybug replied. ”

“ You ought to see this cousin. She's different from any of your family that I've ever met before."
"How is she different?" Mrs. Ladybug demanded, pausing in her pursuit of in [Pg 48] sects on the leaves of the apple tree. At last she began to show some signs of interest.
"I don't know," Chirpy Cricket replied. "I can't say. Maybe it's her clothes that make her look strange."
Mrs. Ladybug then started to ask him questions—which was the best of proof that her curiosity had been aroused.
"What sort of gown was my cousin wearing?" she inquired. "Was it a red polka dot, like mine?" ”

“ And she always wanted them to act surprised and pleased, too.
"Aren't you going to the garden?" Chirpy Cricket demanded. "Don't you intend to be polite to your cousin?"
"Humph!" said Mrs. Ladybug. "She [Pg 47] can't be any busier than I am. Why doesn't she come to the orchard to call on me?"
"She can't do that," he explained. "Your cousin says that it wouldn't be etiquette. She says you've lived on the farm longer than she has."
"Rubbish!" Mrs. Ladybug scolded. "I'm a plain working person. There's too much to do, during the summer, for me to bother with such nonsense." ”

“ Mrs. Wren talked a good deal, afterward, about her terrible experience. Yet she never stopped to think about the pretty beetle—about little Mrs. Ladybug. For Mrs. Ladybug had had a dreadful fright. Luckily she wasn't hurt. But it was a long time before she was her usual busy, able self again. And later, when she told her friends about her adventure, she said that she couldn't understand how Rusty came to make such a mistake.
"I supposed," Mrs. Ladybug declared, "that every bird in Pleasant Valley knew I wasn't good to eat." [Pg 26]
VI
THE TRAVELER
Farmer Green's garden was growing fast. ”

“ Nobody ever saw Jennie Junebug on Farmer Green's place again.
And Mrs. Ladybug was more than satisfied. [Pg 76]
XVI
PLAYING DEAD
Farmer Green's apple trees looked green and flourishing. Thanks to Mrs. Ladybug—and some of her relations—there was scarcely an insect left on the leaves. And since there was no more work to be done in the orchard just then, and nothing for her to eat, Mrs. Ladybug settled among the raspberry bushes near the duck pond. She said that they needed her attention. ”

“ Mrs. Ladybug snapped. "He's at work over in the potato patch, helping Farmer Green."
Peppery Polly laughed again, more unpleasantly than ever. [Pg 44]
"Helping Farmer Green!" she exclaimed. "He's eating the leaves off the vines as fast as he can. I know that gentleman. He's Mr. Potato Bug. And he's one of the greatest pests on the farm." [Pg 45]
X
A BIT OF NEWS
Chirpy Cricket was looking for Mrs. Ladybug. He had news for her. Now, it wasn't often that anybody could tell Mrs. Ladybug anything. Usually she was the one that told other people bits of gossip. ”

“ And as soon as she had fully recovered from the rude blow that Peppery Polly Bumblebee dealt her, she set out for Farmer Green's garden and the potato patch.
For some time Mrs. Ladybug flew back and forth above the potato vines. It was not an easy matter to find so small a person as Mr. Bug in so big a field. ”

“ I only hope your scanty meals won't stunt your growth."
Naturally such speeches didn't make her husband feel any more at his ease.
"I'll have to bring home something special, to please her," he thought. "I wish I could find some dainty that would put her in better humor." ”

“ Wren. "So I see. And now, if your business is finished, allow me to remind you that you have six hungry sons and daughters at home." Then Mrs. Wren twitched herself off her perch and flew back to the cherry tree and her family.
"I declare," Rusty Wren remarked to [Pg 18] his friend Jolly Robin, "I must have stayed here, talking with you, longer than I thought. Those children have enormous appetites. I'll have to work more spryly than ever to get them fed before sunset." ”