ork
Grosset & Dunlap
Publishers
Made in the United States of America
Copyright, 1921, by
Grosset & Dunlap

CONTENTS

CHAPTER
I THE POLKA DOT LADY
II BUSTER'S RESOLVE
III HIDDEN WINGS
IV RUSTY WREN HELPS
V A HARD SHELL
VI THE TRAVELER
VII A HANDSOME STRANGER
VIII SEEKING THE TRUTH
IX THAT CARPETBAG
X A BIT OF NEWS
XI THE NEW COUSIN
XII A QUEER WAY TO HELP
XIII JENNIE JUNEBUG
XIV BUMPS
XV ENOUGH!
XVI PLAYING DEAD
XVII A BRAVE GENTLEMAN
XVIII A MYSTERY
XIX THE DINNER BELL
XX FIRE! FIRE!
XXI PLANS FOR WINTER
XXII MRS. LADYBUG LEAVES
XXIII BACK AGAIN
XXIV MRS. GREEN'S MISTAKE

THE TALE OF MRS. LADYBUG

I

THE POLKA DOT LADY

LITTLE Mrs. Ladybug was a worker. Nobody could deny that. To be sure,
she had to stop now and then to talk to her neighbors, because Mrs.
Ladybug dearly loved a bit of gossip. At the same time there wasn't
anyone in Pleasant Valley that helped Farmer Green more than she did.
She tried her hardest to keep the trees in the orchard free from
insects.

Some of her less worthy neighbors were known sometimes to say with a
sniff, "If Mrs. Ladybug didn't enjoy her work she wouldn't care about
helping Farmer Green. If she hadn't such a big appetite she'd stop to
chat even more than she does now."

That might seem an odd remark--unless one happened to know how Mrs.
Ladybug freed the orchard of the tiny pests that attacked it. The truth
of the matter was this: Mrs. Ladybug _ate_ the little insects that fed
upon the fruit trees. Her constant toil meant that she devoured huge
numbers of Farmer Green's enemies.

Goodness knows what Farmer Green would have done had Mrs. Ladybug and
all her family lost their taste for that kind of fare. The orchard might
have been a sorry sight.

Perhaps it was only to be expected that Mrs. Ladybug should have little
patience with folk that seemed lazy. She thought that Freddie Firefly
wasted too much of his time dancing in the meadow at night. She
considered Buster Bumblebee, the Queen's son, to be a useless idler,
dressed in his black velvet and gold. Having heard that Daddy Longlegs
was a harvestman, she urged him to go to work for Farmer Green at
harvest time. And as for the beautiful Betsy Butterfly, Mrs. Ladybug
found all manner of fault with her.

Nothing made Mrs. Ladybug angrier th