Bob’s Spider     PAGE 2

       The confidence and assurance with which she moved was inspiring. Her quickness was startling. She valued function over appearance. A single ensnared insect might destroy a large portion of a web that had taken her the better part of an hour to construct. She never repaired the damage. The web was no longer pretty by the end of the night, but it had done its job. I watched and I learned.

       I visited her every chance I had, often bringing an edible offering if I could manage it. She prospered and grew larger. I was quietly pleased. Once during August and again in late September, I was away on business. I can’t say that she missed me, but she was there each time when I returned.

     Each morning’s risen sun would find no trace of my arachnid friend or her elaborate web. One morning, I got up at 5 o’clock and I watched as she took down her net. Cutting loose the spokes where they were anchored, she gathered in the web material - and ate it! Rapidly, in less than two minutes, she had ingested it all and had reeled herself in and  up a single lifeline to an overhanging tree branch. She nestled in a cluster of leaves that was her daytime home.

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