Day 4 – The Ladybug’s Enchantment

Ladybug, ladybug, where have you been?
Give me a wish, that I’ve never seen.

Tickle it, prickle it, spread your wings up high.
Fly away, fly away, into the blue sky!

Polka dots, on your back,
How many do you have?
Let me count them, Ladybug,
That’s how long you’ve lived.

Ladybug, good luck bug,
Take my wish with you,

Golden flowers shower me
Make my wish come true,

As a child, the enchantment of finding a ladybug, crawling on your arm
or hand, or sitting on a flower, was that it was a magical thing. It
always brought sunshine, warm days to play outside in, and flowers.
Golden dandelions in the lawn, most often harbored their own little red
and polka dotted visitor.

The most amazing thing, I can remember, about it was that no matter how
anxious or flustered you made it by blowing on it, or even picking it’s
flower, it always seemed to wait for you to count all of it’s dots,
before unfurling it’s extra wing extensions, and then flying away.

Often, I could make it stay with me for quite a while, by giving it lots
of fingers, a hand crammed up carefully against another hand, or even
arm and elbow space to crawl over. Hence the “tickly, prickly “
sensation. It was almost a pet. Then, when you expected it would stay
forever and be tame, it up and flies away. It’s not afraid of you , but
you can’t tie it down, either. It must be free.

As it flies away, however, there was always that sensation of it as a
“magical messenger” taking your wishes with it to some never-never land in the sky. The expectation was, when it returned from it’s skyward
mission, it would bring with it, the fulfillment of your “secret” wish.
How could it know what that wish was? Well, therein lies the magic of it!

It knew what you wanted because you had “thought it” at the Ladybug, as
it was fluttering away. And because it could tell what your most
innermost, secret wish was, it was filled with enchantment, and power.

The ladybug always shared with us how old it was. No one else could
tell what it’s age was. But we knew, that if it stayed long enough for
you to count it’s dots, then you got to know it’s age. I’ve seen some
that were absolutely covered with spots – even 15 of them!

So, the next time you see a ladybug, treat her like the lady she is.
After all, she has enchanted us all before, and watch out because she
can probably do it again!