Page 54 - Stories for Thinking Children 2
P. 54

aki was lying in the garden reading a book. His eyes strayed
              Z from the book he was reading, and as he looked around he saw
              a spider's web on the branch of a tree. He got up and went up to the
              spider's web which he began examining with interest. The spider,

              which was near the web, then spoke to him.
                 "Hello, friend!" it said in a tiny voice.

                 "Hello," replied Zaki, who was always very polite. "This web you
                   have made is very interesting. How do you make one like this?"

                                   The spider took a deep breath and began to ex-
                                           plain: "I start by finding the right place
                                               for it. It must be in a corner or be-
                                                tween two nearby objects. Let me

                                                explain how I make a web be-
                                                 tween two tree branches. First I fix
                                                 the thread tightly to one end of the
                                                 branch. Then I go to the other end
                                               while continuing to produce thread.
                                                  When I reach the right distance I
                                                    stop producing that thread.

                                                      Then I begin to pull the
                                                      thread back towards myself
                                                      until it is tight and I fix it
                                                    where I am. Then I begin to
                                                   weave the web inside the arc I

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