The Ladybird

My new story is about a little girl called Nora, who enjoys looking at bugs in her bug box. A big black crow follows her around, waiting to eat the insects she leaves behind. Listen to the story to hear what happens when Nora finds a ladybird. Thank you for listening to my story... and thanks for all your kind messages - I love each and every one of them.

Transcript

Hello,

My name is Jacqueline and I write stories for my grandchildren and I'm very happy to share them with you too.

So if you are ready,

Make yourself comfortable,

Settle back because the story is about to begin.

The Lady Bird She knew he was looking at her.

He always did.

The big black crow sat on a branch in the nearest tree and watched as Nora gathered bugs in her bug box.

Using this box she could study the bugs without hurting them.

It was kind of like a little house for them to settle into while she looked at them through the plastic sides.

The lid to the box had a section on one side with tiny holes which enabled air to get in and on the other side was a magnifier.

Nora would catch different creatures to put in her bug box such as ants,

Beetles,

Worms and one day she even caught a frog which was a lot of fun to look at.

As she looked through the magnifier she often wondered what the bugs would be like if they were a hundred times their natural size.

In the nearby forest Nora would lift rocks and move logs to see if there were any bugs underneath and the big black crow would sit and watch her.

Sometimes Nora would break apart rotting wood to find termites.

The crow would wait for her to move to another part of the garden so he could swoop down and eat the bugs she left behind.

Today the crow was being rather annoying.

He was sitting in the tree shouting Caw,

Caw,

Caw non-stop.

He was probably hungry because Nora hadn't searched under any logs or rocks.

Instead she was using her long handled net to catch bugs out of the air or trap them as they lay on the ground.

She was looking for a particular insect which she wanted to study closer in her box,

A ladybird.

It was nearly time for dinner and Nora was still searching for a ladybird.

She had already caught and examined many other different bugs today but had not seen one of these anywhere in her garden.

Nora walked around the side of the house with her box in one hand and her net in the other.

Immediately she saw a ladybird sitting on a big white daisy.

With an easy flick of her wrist she swung the net out and scooped up the insect and placed it in her box,

Putting the lid on tight.

Nora sat down the grass just under her bedroom window and looked through the magnifier.

The ladybird seemed quite happy sitting on a leaf that was in there.

Nora,

Dinner's ready,

Come inside immediately please,

Nora's mum shouted.

Nora left the bug box outside expecting to go back to it after she had eaten dinner but her mum had other plans.

Nora had to do some reading and then take a bath before bed.

Nora enjoyed reading and her parents liked her to read a little to them every evening.

After her bath Nora settled into her cosy bed and drifted off to sleep,

All thoughts of the ladybird forgotten.

Caw,

Caw,

Caw.

The sound of the big black crow woke Nora.

She got out of bed feeling as if she had hardly slept but it must be morning as the sun was shining through her bedroom window.

Nobody else was awake so she crept out of the house and went into the garden.

She could hear the crow but couldn't see it.

A few crows had been particularly bothersome lately and Nora was fed up with them.

She decided to do something about it and today was the day.

She was going to scare the crows away once and for all.

Looking around the garden she found an old wire plant cage her mum had grown tomato plants in and an old black sheet which had been used to protect the shrubs from frost.

Nora pulled the wire cage over her head and slid it part ways down her body.

Then she put the old black sheet on top of the cage and allowed it to drop around her.

It was a little long but she was well hidden from the crows.

With a rusty pair of garden scissors she cut tiny holes in the sheet so she could see where she was going.

Feeling ready she took her position in the middle of the garden and waited for the crows to appear.

Nora stood quietly as she looked around.

Before long she heard the familiar coring sound and within seconds lots and lots of big black crows filled the sky above her.

They swooped down towards her,

Coring loudly.

Nora didn't expect to see so many crows and she certainly didn't expect them to fly at her.

She waved her arms wildly inside the black sheet and screamed,

Go away,

Go away!

But the crows kept flying at her,

Swooping down and coring louder and louder.

Nora tried to move out of their way but her feet became tangled up in the long sheet and she tripped and fell to the ground.

She lay there motionless with her eyes closed.

Almost immediately the noise of the crows had stopped.

The only sound Nora could hear was her own heavy breathing.

She opened her eyes and noticed how dark it had become.

Sitting up she discovered that she was no longer wearing the wire plant cage or the black sheet and she was not in the garden.

She was on the floor in her bedroom wearing her pyjamas and it was the middle of the night.

It had all been a dream.

She must have fallen out of bed whilst dreaming about the crows.

Relieved Nora stood up and went to look out of her bedroom window just to make sure there were no crows about.

The moon was high in the sky sending its glow out and creating enough light for her to see.

As she looked around she saw her bug box lying on the grass where she had left it but it was broken into pieces.

Quietly so as not to waken her family Nora opened her bedroom window and climbed outside.

She bent down to take a closer look at the pieces of her box.

How did this happen?

She thought to herself and where is the ladybird?

She looked at the pieces again and decided the crows must have destroyed the box.

After all they were very intelligent birds and easily able to work out ways to get food.

As Nora was thinking about this she noticed out of the corner of her eye something move in the forest.

She knew the forest extremely well because she played there every day.

She walked along a path leading into the forest.

It looked really dark in there because the tree branches and leaves stopped the moonlight from shining through.

It gave Nora an eerie feeling but she felt sure something was in there although she couldn't quite see what it was.

All of a sudden a glow appeared as hundreds of fireflies surrounded her.

They started to lead the way into the forest flying just slightly ahead to light the path for her.

The path led to Nora's fort which she had built using fallen branches and twigs.

This was a special place for her,

One that she only shared with her friends and family.

It was also somewhere she could be alone and think about things.

As she got closer she noticed something enter the fort.

There were not as many trees here so the area was well lit by the moonlight.

Nora stood outside the entrance to her fort and glanced inside.

At first she couldn't see anything but as her eyes adjusted to the dark she could make out a dome-like shape.

Sensing her difficulty to see some of the fireflies flew into the fort and lit it up for her.

Nora gasped as she saw,

Sitting on the ground,

The biggest ladybird in the world and probably in the universe.

She was the same size as Nora and looked straight at her.

Nora didn't feel scared at all.

This was something she had dreamt about,

Seeing one of her creatures a hundred times its natural size.

The ladybird started to fly around the fort and Nora realised she wanted to get out,

So she stepped aside and watched her fly up into the moonlit sky.

The ladybird soon settled on a long branch,

Way up in a nearby tree.

Nora wanted to get closer to her but the only way was to climb the tree.

Luckily a fallen tree was leaning up against the one the ladybird was in so Nora climbed up the trunk.

But she still wasn't close enough.

She had to walk along a branch to be able to sit right next to the ladybird.

Nora looked at it.

The branch resembled a balance beam and Nora had extremely good balance.

She decided to go for it as this would probably be the only chance she would have to sit next to a giant bug.

Carefully Nora stood up,

Pleased she hadn't put her shoes on before she climbed out of her bedroom window.

She could grip so much better with bare feet.

As she stretched her arms out to the sides she took a deep breath and balanced herself.

Carefully,

Placing one foot in front of the other,

She walked across the branch taking great care to focus on the place she wanted to sit rather than how high up she was.

Finally she made it and cautiously sat down next to the ladybird.

The ladybird seemed quite happy to have Nora by her side.

Nora looked down and guessed she must be at least ten feet off the ground,

Far higher than her dad could reach.

Sitting there in the moonlight with the ladybird was wonderful.

Nora stared at her,

Taking in all her amazing details.

She had an oval dome-shaped body with six short legs.

Her body was red and Nora counted seven black spots,

Three on each side and one in the middle,

And her head was black with small white patches on either side.

Nora couldn't resist touching the ladybird and stretched out her hand slowly so as not to frighten her.

The ladybird didn't move at all so Nora laid her hand on its hard red shell.

She remembered learning in school that the red shell of the ladybird was a protective casing which opened up to allow the extremely delicate wings underneath to come out,

Enabling her to fly.

Nora wondered what it would be like to fly with a ladybird and decided now was the time to find out.

Carefully she stood up on the branch and climbed upon its back.

She wiggled herself until she was sitting comfortable around its neck.

The ladybird didn't seem to mind,

In fact she started to fly.

Slowly she rose into the air until they were above the forest.

Nora held on tightly as they flew over the neighbourhood.

This was so magical and in the moonlight everything looked almost dreamlike.

After a while the ladybird flew back down and settled on the grass outside of Nora's bedroom window.

Nora climbed off and thanked the ladybird for the amazing experience,

One she was sure she would never forget.

Nora watched the ladybird fly off up into the sky until she disappeared from view.

Feeling tired but happy,

Nora climbed back in through her bedroom window,

Got into bed and fell straight to sleep.

Wake up Nora,

It's time for breakfast.

Nora's mum said gently as she bent down by Nora's bed,

You've slept in late today,

Are you feeling okay?

Nora sat up in bed and looked at her mum as she remembered her night time activities.

Yes,

I'm fine mum,

I just had some crazy dreams last night.

Well get up and you can tell us all about them while we eat breakfast,

Nora's mum said as she stood up.

I'm making pancakes this morning so don't be long.

Nora got out of bed and went into the garden.

The sun was shining and everything looked the same as it always did.

She knew he was looking at her before she even glanced up at the tree.

Caw,

Caw,

Caw,

The big black crow called out.

Good morning Mr Crow,

Nora replied as she waved at him.

Nora walked round to the grass just under her bedroom window and found her bug box.

It was not broken at all and the lid was still on it.

She picked it up and looked through the plastic side.

There,

Sitting in the corner on a leaf,

Was the ladybird she had caught yesterday.

Good morning,

Said Nora smiling at her tiny friend.

They looked at each other for a moment and then Nora removed the lid from the box.

Very gently she tipped the ladybird onto the grass and watched as she flew away up into the sky.

I wonder what I'll dream about tonight,

Thought Nora as she went back into the house for her breakfast.

I hope you enjoyed listening to my story.

Before you go,

I'd like to ask you a question.

Have you ever had any strange dreams?

Thank you again for listening and come back soon for another story with Grandma.

Bye for now.

Reviews

Maybe you can do a CHRISTMAS meditation next.🎅🏻📕🤶🏻🇦🇺

Loved it! What is your next story going to be about?

Oh yes 👏 I have!! I have had so many weird dreams in my sleep 🛌 especially lately

Loved it 😍
Flo flo and Willa xoxo

Yes. My oddest dream I have ever had was about breakfast. I was a sunny side up egg, and there was a crazy, creepy, talking strawberry rambling on and on about New York City. And can you please make my birthday wish story?

Yes I’ve had some weird dreams very very very very very weird dreams

Love it 😍
Love ladybugs:D
Love Miraculous ladybug
#miraculoussimplythebest
I had a dream I was ladybug

No

Thank you. It was wonderful. I had 3 scary dreams about my only little brother. I have 2 others. I’ve had a dream about my little brother and my older brother and my oldest brother I’ve never had a dream about. Have a nice day Jacqueline!!! 💜💙✨ ❤️❤️❤️ 😊🤓🤩 loved the meditation.

-Edith (you know me)

For the people reading this comment,
Jacqueline is an incredible writer and she has an amazing voice. I’ve listened to almost all her kid storys. My whole point is, she’s incredible/amazing/extraordinary/awesome/very good story writer/and great. Have a nice day everyone!!!

❤️❤️❤️

What a fun story! Always love hearing new ones from you!