"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.