THE LADYBIRD. 133 



seldom found among the sons of Ham, it does not seem 

 by any means beyond the bounds of probability that the 

 legend was in existence before the Flood, and that the 

 children of the sons of Noah carried it to the various 

 quarters of the world when they scattered from the 

 common centre. 



But, though there can be no dispute as to the enormous 

 antiquity of these apparently non-sensible lines, scientific 

 men, although agreeing that there must be a deep and 

 hidden meaning somewhere, are quite unable to arrive at 

 any consensus as to what that meaning can be. As of late 

 years it has been the habit of scientific men, whenever they 

 cannot find any other satisfactory explanation of an ancient 

 legend or story, to assign it to one of the sun myths, 

 " Ladybird, ladybird," must now be considered as included 

 in that broad category, and so takes its place by the side of 

 the siege of Troy, the wars of the Gods with the Titans, and 

 other apparently widely diverse legends. The highest credit 

 is due to scientific men for the ingenuity shown in the 

 invention of this sun-myth limbo, into which they are able 

 to shunt away all legends and traditions that prove too 

 tough for them to unravel. But, failing to grapple with 

 the story of the burning of the ladybird's house, it would 

 certainly be satisfactory if we could get with certainty at the 

 legend that connects them with the Virgin. The French 

 call them Betes de la Vierge, the German Unser Herretthuhn, 

 while our own ladybird, which is, of course, a mere shorten- 

 ing of "Our Lady's bird," is a literal translation of the 

 German name, the French differing only in calling the insect 

 a beast, while the Germans and ourselves call it a bird. 

 The most plausible supposition is that as the Virgin is in 



