“Ladybird, ladybird, fly away home
Your house is on fire and your children are gone!”
– English nursery rhyme

Superstition says that it is good luck to have a ladybird land on our hand or body, and that it should be sent off with the rhyme above… which is a bit grim?

But did you know…? The Portuguese also have a rhyme said upon encountering this beloved bug, and it says: fly, fly ladybird, your father has gone to Lisbon! Original:

“Joaninha voa, voa
Que o teu pai foi a Lisboa!”

It’s much nicer, I’d say.

Image Credit: Davies, Alexandra Jane (2006). Sea To Garden Journey. Available here.

Further Reading: Ladybird, Ladybird in The Dorling Kindersley Book of Nursery Rhymes (2000). Available via Poetry Foundation.