Just outside of town was a ladybird village. It was situated in a pretty meadow. One family lived underneath the purple bellflowers, another near the poppies, and yet another under the cornflowers. In the middle of the meadow, scattered among the tall grasses, grew a few daisies — that’s where Leonora lived, along with her parents and her brother.
Leonora the ladybird was cheerful and friendly — she was liked by everyone. She enjoyed babysitting the littlest ladybirds when their parents flew off to get something to eat. She would look after the whole village, keeping an eye out for any swallows or crows that might want to feast on the ladybirds.
There was one thing that bothered Leonora, though. While all the other ladybirds had seven spots on their back, Leonora had only six. As a youngster, she didn’t think about it much. Ladybirds don’t have mirrors so don’t often see what they look like — they only glance at their reflection once in a while, on the water surface of a stream or puddle. And besides, who looks at their own back?
But as soon as Leonora started going to school, there was always someone reminding her that she was missing a spot. Some ladybirds were just curious, asking her why she only had six spots. But others laughed at her: “Ha-ha-ha, our Leonora is strange!” They would taunt her, shouting: “Six-spotted ladybird, six-spotted ladybird!” Leonora dwelled on that for days, feeling sad and not wanting to play with anyone. Not even with those friends who didn’t mind how many spots she had.
One time, in the school playground, the others made fun of her so badly that she started crying and ran away. She sat down under a mushroom, in the…
