Once upon a time, a cheerful ladybug hopped from one flower to another, enjoying the nice sunny day. She was a very curious ladybug and liked to find new things.

She spied a row of homes, each with a little yard filled with plenty of flowers. Her favorite flowers were red roses, so she flew to the yard with the most roses. "Mmmmmm" she said, as she started munching. "Such beautiful and delicious roses," she thought as she flew from one to another.

Suddenly, she noticed the front door of the house open and a man leave the house. He left the door open a crack, so the ladybug flew in. She almost bumped into a woman on her way out. The woman dashed out the door, slamming it shut. Oops, the ladybug was stuck inside!

At first, the ladybug didn't care. She wanted to explore. She flew into a bedroom that was tidy and nice. She flew through the bathroom and went on to the kitchen, where she nibbled some crumbs left on the table and found a spot of maple syrup to lick.

Now she was ready to leave. But all the doors and windows were closed. So the ladybug settled down to wait until the people came home. She would fly out the door as they came in.

She waited and waited, but she became hungry again. She decided to fly back to the kitchen to take another lick of the maple syrup on the table. "Yum," she thought as she slurped up some maple syrup. But just then the man and woman came home and shut the door behind them. The ladybug had missed her chance.

She would have to try again the next morning, so she hid under the lampshade in the living room, right next to the door. The man and woman went to bed, and the ladybug waited. She was very tired. It had been a long day. She fell asleep and was having lovely ladybug dreams when she heard the door open and close. "Oh, no!" she thought, " How could I have missed them again?" She had been so tired, she hadn't even heard them wake up, get ready and head to work.

"Now how will I get out?" She flew back to the kitchen and found some muffin crumbs that tasted very good and a small drop of orange juice that she licked up happily. "What a good breakfast," she said to herself, "but now I must find a way to get out of this place and back home. My family must be worried about me by now."

She looked around everywhere, hoping to find a cracked window or hole in the wall, but there were none. She tried to squeeze under the door, but it was too tight. She just had to wait�again!