Lara the Yellow Ladybird

Catherine Holtzhausen; Martha Evans; Nadene Kriel

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.