Lady-bird
: BIRDS AND BEASTS.: Welsh Folk-lore
This pretty spotted little beetle was used formerly in the neighbourhood
of Llanidloes as a prognosticator of the weather. First of all the
lady-bird was placed in the palm of the left hand, or right; I do not
think it made any difference which hand was used, and the person who held
it addressed it as follows:--
Iar fach goch, gwtta,
Pa un ai gwlaw, neu hindda?
and then
person repeating the while--
Os mai gwlaw, cwympa lawr,
Os mai teg, hedfana;
which in English would be--
Lady-bird, lady-bird, tell to me
What the weather is going to be;
If fair, then fly in the air,
If foul, then fall to the ground.
The first two lines were said with the beetle in the hand, and the last
two whilst it was thrown upwards; if it came to the ground without
attempting to fly, it indicated rain; if, however, when thrown into the
air it flew away, then fair weather was to be expected. The writer has
often resorted to this test, but whether he found it true or false he
cannot now say.
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