A Ladybug Bedtime Story: The Umbrella's Missing Dot

Read this original ladybug bedtime story together. Lottie repaints her dotted umbrella and discovers that one blank space can have a purpose. The complete story below includes a separate suggestion for adding one familiar detail when you tell it again.

The Umbrella's Missing Dot

Lottie's umbrella was red with black dots. She had painted every dot herself, beginning at the top and working around in a circle. One dot was round. One was oval. One looked a little like a potato.

She liked all of them. But after a windy afternoon, a dot near the edge peeled away. Beneath it was a small circle of clear umbrella fabric. Lottie could look straight through it.

"A hole in the pattern," she said.

She brought out her paints. Black would match the other dots, but the black pot was empty. Blue looked wrong beside the red. Green looked like a tiny leaf stuck to the umbrella. Lottie wiped both colors away before they dried.

Her friend Ant stopped by with a basket. "You could paint it yellow."

"Then it would be the only yellow dot."

"True," said Ant, who did not seem to find this particularly troubling.

Lottie carried the umbrella into the garden to think. She opened it above her head, even though the afternoon was dry. Through the clear circle she could see a piece of sky. A leaf moved across it. Then the leaf moved away, leaving blue again.

She turned the umbrella. Now the circle held the top of a sunflower. She turned farther and found the garden gate, made small by the round clear space around it.

Ant set down her basket. "What are you looking at?"

"The missing dot."

Ant stepped closer. Through the circle, her face appeared above Lottie's head. Her feelers filled nearly the whole opening. They both laughed, and Lottie lowered the umbrella so Ant could try looking through it too.

When rain arrived that evening, Lottie walked Ant to the gate. Water tapped every painted dot. The clear circle stayed clear, with drops gathering on its outside. Lottie could see the porch lamp through it without tipping the umbrella back.

At home she put away the unused paints. Around the clear circle she drew a thin black border, just wide enough to make it look finished. It was still a dot, though it changed color according to what stood behind it.

She left the umbrella open beside the door to dry. The porch light made one bright circle on the floor, exactly where the missing dot used to be.

Adapt one detail for your listener

Let your child choose the paint colors or decide what Lottie sees through the clear dot. On another day, draw the umbrella pattern on paper and leave one circle empty for a changing picture. Keep the clear opening visible in the ending. A child who prefers the original red-and-black pattern does not need to change it for the story to feel personal.

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