Don't you love those old nursery rhymes....scary when you think of them. Even the most popular and mildest tell of the tragedy of life, and give testament to the turmoil that accompanies our everyday existence. The original meaning of this rhyme is too, like most nursery rhymes, unsettling according to rhymes.uk.org/ladybug_ladybug.html: "The English word ladybird is a derivative of the Catholic term " Our Lady". The tradition of calling this rhyme was believed to have been used as a seemingly innocent warning cry to Catholic (recusants) who refused to attend Protestant services as required by the Act of Uniformity (1559 & 1662). This law forbade priests to say Mass and forbade communicants to attend it. Consequently Mass was held secretly in the open fields. Laymen were subject to jail and heavy fines and priests to execution."..which was often by burning. BUT here is a happy ladybug stained glass pattern, no children burning. The rhyme I learned as a child: Ladybug! Ladybug! Fly away home. Your house is on fire. And your children will burn. Another version: Ladybug! Ladybug! Fly away home. Your house is on fire. And your children all gone. All except one, And that's little Ann, For she crept under The frying pan. Yet another version: Ladybug, ladybug, fly away home. Your house is on fire, your children will roam. Except little Nan, Who sits in a pan, Weaving gold laces as fast as she can.