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