As the sun's rays of pinkish light fell over the forest, a weary firefly dashed for cover and found itself entangled in the silver threads of a mist-covered web.
"Ah", said the spider, as she sprang upon the firefly, "you shall be my breakfast!"
The firefly was so disgusted by the appearance of this creature his fear was forgotten. "How can something so ugly weave such a majestic trap?" he boldly asked.
The spider spun more silk and, using her eight legs, positioned herself above the firefly. Thoughtfully she dangled above her captive for a moment before replying, "We are very special, and nothing else can spin the webs we weave. My great, great, great grandmother was once a human princess. All knew the story of Arachne."
The firefly sensed he now had a means of escape. If he could get this vain spider to tell her story then he would have the time needed to work himself free. "Please tell me this most unusual tale," pleaded the firefly.
The spider wrapped her legs around her round stomach and said, "I would like to brag a bit. It's not every day I feel like talking to my food, but since you asked, I will explain about my kind. Long ago, there was a contest between the Goddess Athene and the Princess Arachne. This is the story of that contest:”
The story begins with an old servant watching her mistress, the beautiful Princess Arachne, weaving on a golden loom. As the princess wove, the servant could hear the voices of her people talking excitedly outside the palace window. "Aren't you nervous, Arachne?" whispered the old servant. "She's due here any minute!"
"I have no worries, servant. I can easily weave better then the Goddess Athene," replied Arachne, as a sudden clap of thunder and the flash of a lightning bolt dramatically informed everyone of the goddess's arrival.
"Oh, but the great goddess has a terrible temper when it comes to us vain mortals," stuttered the old servant, as she ran to Arachne's side. "You should ask her for forgiveness and forget this foolish pride!"
"I will do no such thing," answered Arachne, her face red with anger. "You have seen my work from this golden loom. My work can match that of a goddess! There is no one, goddess or mortal, who can spin like me! Athene should not be so jealous. Now, if you will carry my loom out to the front lawn so my people can witness this victory, I will prove who is best!" Impatiently Arachne pushed by the old servant and, with head held high, left to meet this goddess.
Grumbling to herself, the servant carefully picked up Arachne's most prized possession. As she stepped into the sun-splashed day, the servant suddenly lost her balance and fell. Arachne's cry of rage silenced the large crowd gathered around her.
"I should have you punished for this, old woman!" shouted Arachne, for all to hear. Picking up her loom, she glared at the cowering servant. With a stomp of her foot, Arachne marched through the crowd and angrily placed her loom across from the goddess, her beautiful face now etched in hard, selfish lines.
Athene stood by a simple wooden spinning wheel, her beauty bathed in a rosy sunshine that caused many eyes to tear in wonder. The Goddess of Wisdom, with a slight wave of her tiny hand, raised the injured servant to her feet.
"Arachne, the wind has brought your boasting to my ears for many years now. You weave your beautiful cloth but will not clothe your people with the rewards of your work. They wear nothing but dirty rags!"
"They do not deserve my rich cloth. Even you, a goddess, shall marvel at my work."
"And if I win," asked the goddess, in a voice as beautiful as birdsong, "what do you offer?"
"I will be your servant, and you shall decide my fate," declared Arachne. She clapped her hands, and a stool of the finest ivory was placed by her loom. With her brow furrowed in concentration, she sat, fully expecting to win the contest.
Athene dazzled the crowd with a gentle smile before seating herself on the rough, wooden stool that had appeared quite suddenly by her crude spinning wheel.
A hush fell over the crowd as a large raven circled overhead. The bird's raucous "caw, caw" signaled the beginning of the contest.
Sweat poured from Arachne's face as she spun a twill weave, crossing the lengthwise threads by the crosswise threads, creating rows of raised lines on the cloth.
Athene sang the song of the heavens as she quickly wove a satin weave. The cloth was smooth and flowed around her. Arachne was still struggling to catch up when the goddess stood and offered the beautiful cloth to the ragged people.
"The contest is over, and the Goddess Athene has won!" cried the people.
Arachne jumped to her feet and kicked at the golden loom. "I've been cheated! You used your powers to win!"
"I did not make this challenge," responded Athene. "A mortal can never best a god or goddess, you simple girl."
"I'm still the best at spinning in my kingdom!" Arachne cried, angrily.
"You have forgotten who won, you vain, selfish child. However, I will reward your true gift," said the goddess. "You shall always weave, and none will be better." Athene covered Arachne in a dark cloud and loudly proclaimed for all to hear, "From this day forward, there will be no living creature to spin like Arachne. Silk to weave will come from her belly and legs of eight will be her loom as she spins and spins a silken web. A spider she and her offspring will be!" At this, the goddess vanished on a bolt of lightning, leaving a stunned Arachne to her loom.
"And that is our story," said the spider.
"And I will remember it always!" laughed the firefly, as he worked himself free from the last strand of web holding him captive and swiftly flew away.
This is different from some of the other spider themed stories that are out there, creative. I too got a few spider stories out there myself but they fall into the horror genre. This reminds me of something that my ex-girlfriend, Jayme Henry, would write.
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