And the story has been handed down from peasant to peasant, and is known throughout the whole of France.
And that is why the lady-bug is called in France "La petite bete au bon Dieu," which means "the little insect beloved of God"; and that is why everyone has reverence for it and loves it, and would not take its life.
SUMMER SPINNERS
An angular spider weaves
Great webs between the trees,
Webs that are witches' sieves.
And honey- and bumble-bees
Go droning among the leaves
Like the fairies' oboës.
Madison Cawein.