Nikol A. Ladybug

                                                          Nikol A. Ladybug

                                                        By Daryl Campbell



         Nikol Amelia Ladybug was a beautiful ladybug. Like her mom, she was a pink, but had big, black spots like her dad. Her dad was a red.

         She'd turn five a few weeks before her first Christmas arrived and was excited. Dressed as a butterfly, Halloween had been fun and she ate so much food at Thanksgiving that she’d never be hungry again. Then there were birthdays, always big parties with family and friends and presents.

         On her first birthday in August, she got a swing. The swing hung from a branch outside her house and she swung every day and only her closest friends joined her.

         She turned two in September and got a paintbrush, an easel, and paints: red, blue, green, yellow, black, and orange. She painted something everyday and kept her drawings put up so no one could harm them.

         On Nikol’s third birthday, in October, Mr. and Mrs. Ladybug gave her a pink bike with blue tires and a tiny bell. She rode her bike to school every day and didn’t pay attention to the walkers she passed before and after class.

         Nikol turned four in November and got a green and yellow dragonfly and a tiny box with two knobs on it. She didn’t know what to think until Dad showed her what it could do. The toy flapped its wings, lifted off the ground and flew. Nikol learned to use the box to control the dragonfly and hardly let anyone else fly it.

         In December, Nikol’s birthday came again. She got a writing kit. It had paper, a ruler, two erasers, and pencils. It was just what she needed. She wanted to write Santa a list of all the things she hoped to get. She hid the box under her bed.

         That Saturday, Nikol ate a few leaves for breakfast and drank dew drops to wash them down.

         “Mom, I’m going to my room,” Nikol said.

         “Okay, Nikol. You have something to do?” Mom asked.

         “Nothing special,” Nikol answered. “I just wanna write something.”

         Mrs. Ladybug laughed. “I’ll need to get the letter in the mail by Monday.”

         Nikol’s door shut and she got the wooden box from under the bed, opened it, and spread everything across the floor. She sat down and wrote her letter.





Dear Santa

         My name's Nikol Amelia Ladybug and this is the first letter I’ve ever written you. I’ve done a good job in all my classes and kept my room clean like mama says. I’ve been a good girl and wanted to give you a list of what I want for Christmas.



Baby doll        Pink Ball    Roller blades

Ice skates        A pet          Board games

Art supplies    Glove                Rocking chair

Pudding cups  Candy                Teeter-totter



                                                Thanks

                                          Nikol A. Ladybug



PS. I can’t wait until Christmas

         When she finished the letter, Nikol smiled and ran to the living. Her mom was in the big chair and held an envelope above her head.

         “Don’t forget to put the addresses on it, Honey,” Mom yelled as Nikol ran back to her room.

         “I didn't know the address,” Nikol said when she returned.

         “Which one?”

         “Both,” she climbed into Mom’s lap, “ours or Santa’s.”

         “Well, ours is 1132 Pine Tree Lane, Appalachian Forest. All you need for Santa is his name and North Pole.” Mrs. Ladybug watched Nikol write everything on the envelop.

         “Will you mail it for me?”

         “I sure will.” Mom giggled and stuck a stamp with blue flowers on it to the letter.

         Nikol spent the rest of the day on her swing. Dinner was a bowl of pollen stew and lemon water. She went to sleep that night, happy about the letter and excited over the presents she'd get for Christmas.

         For the next two weeks, Nikol went to school, swung on her swing, played with the dragonfly, painted, and practiced writing. Finally, Christmas Eve arrived and she was in bed early, curled up under a big blanket with her head on a fluffy pillow.

         Nikol's parents were asleep and her eyes were barely open when she heard bells. She jumped from bed and ran down the hall. When she got to the front room, Santa had already left the house. Nikol turned to lock the door, leapt in the air, and flew to Santa. Careful not to frighten him, she landed on his shoulder as he climbed onto his sleigh.

         Nikol held tight when the reindeer started forward. She stared at Santa. He was a human thing with a soft shell of white and red. He had a large, puffy face and white, stringy stuff covered his mouth and fell across his chest.

         “Mr. Santa!” She was a polite lady bug. “Mr. Santa!”

         “And who are you?” His voice was deep and his big, blue eyes looked down where she sat.

         “I’m Nikol, Nikol A. Ladybug,” she answered.

         “It’s nice to meet you, Nikol,” he told her. “But why are you out so late?”

         “I wanted to meet you, but you already left my house.” Nikol felt the sleigh start down.

         “I usually don’t let anyone ride, but I’ll let you help me while we talk.” The sleigh slid to a stop. “Make sure to hold on tight. I’m in an awful hurry.”

         Santa picked up a red bag and jumped from the sleigh. Nikol held onto his shell as tight as she could and they slid though a chimney on one of the houses. She‘d never seen a house like this, but knew she was safe with Santa. Suddenly, they were in a large room with a tree.

         “Are you ready?” Santa asked.

         “Ready?” She didn’t understand.

         “Take this and get all the little ones taken care off.” He handed her a tiny, red bag.

         “What do you mean by little ones?”

         “The fly family, the spider family, and the cockroach family all have children waiting for presents. With the magic in that bag, you’ll know where to go and what to pull out.” Santa whispered.

         “You sure you want me to do this?” Nikol asked.

         “You're a very good girl and I believe in you.” He smiled.

         Nikol lifted the bag and suddenly knew where to go. The bag hardly weighed anything, but when she reached in, a present came out, sometimes two or three presents. Santa laughed as she finished and they moved to the next house.

         Every house was the same, Santa unloaded presents under the human's tree and Nikol took care of the smaller families. Santa laughed each time they finished. She didn't like giving away all the neat presents, but he enjoyed it. She didn't understand why until until the last house.

         There were lots of families in the blue house. Nikol gave away more presents here than she had at any other. She was almost finished when she heard a voice behind her.

         “Hello,” the quiet voice said.

         “Hello,” Nikol spoke softly to the little wasp. “Who are you?”

         “My name’s Angela,” the wasp answered. “Where’s Santa?”

         “He sent me to drop your presents off.”

         “Are these all for me?” Angela smiled.

         “I think they are,” Nikol told her as Santa laughed. “I have to go and you need to get back to bed. Have a merry Christmas.”

         “Thank you so much,” Angela hugged and kissed Nikol goodbye.

         Once on the sleigh, Nikol felt what Santa had known all night. The little wasp was happy and thankful. It made Nikol happy too. She smiled and thought about it on the ride home. At home, Santa thanked her for the help, gave her a tiny bell, and laughed his deep  laugh. The reindeer pulled the sleigh into the sky and Nikol waived goodbye and listened as the bells faded away.

         Nikol unlocked the door and entered as quietly as she could. She knew it had been hours upon hours and was worried that her parents might have missed her. Nobody was awake and she looked at the clock, confused that only a few minutes had passed. It was still early. She looked at her presents and smiled. Tired, Nikol went to bed.

         The next morning, Mr. and Mrs. Ladybug enjoyed hearing their daughter’s story. They watched as she opened her presents and enjoyed the surprised look on her face when she got something she didn't expect. Nikol passed out candy to the carolers and made sure that anyone wanting a ride on her swing got one.

         She was always a good girl. She taught her friends how to fly the dragonfly, she sometimes let a walker ride her bike, and she made gifts of all of her paintings. Always and forever loved by Mom and Dad, she was a happy ladybug. After all, she was Santa's friend.