Lara the ladybird was a special bug. Unlike all her friends, she had bright yellow wings.
Everyone loved her yellow wings.
Each morning, Bibi Butterfly said hello. And Manto Mantis always waved.
Even Sesa, the sulky spider, was happy to see her.
At school, she played with lots of friends.
But Lara wanted to be like the other ladybirds. “I wish I had red wings like you, Mama,” she cried.
So one day, to cheer her up, Lara’s mother painted her wings bright red.
The next morning, nobody greeted Lara on her way to school.
And when she got there, none of her friends said hello.
Lara sat all alone. No one noticed her new red wings.
Until Miss Miya spotted her and said:
“You’ve painted your lovely yellow wings!”
Lara’s classmates were shocked.
“Your wings are special!”
“So unique!”
“So rare!”
“Lara,” Miss Miya said, “your yellow wings are what make you, you. Like Sipho’s spot … and Sally’s legs.”
Back home, Lara took a long bath and scrubbed until her golden wings gleamed.
“I’ll never paint my wings again!” she thought. Except, maybe once or twice …
To try a bit of purple … or something nice. But not ‘for ever’ and just for fun.
Credits
Originally published by Book Dash under a Creative Commons Licensed BY 4.0. This book can be read for free on https://bookdash.org/books/lara-the-yellow-ladybird and was created by: Catherine Holtzhausen (Illustrator), Nadene Kriel (Designer), Martha Evans (Writer), Ester Levinrad (Editor)
