第1章 THE SPIDER 小蜘蛛

Do you see the spider in the picture? He has just got his web done;and there he sits in the very middle of it, ready to pounce upon a fly.

The spider loves work. He begins to work as soon as he begins to live. Every spider is born a weaver. Even the youngest spider knows how to weave his web just as well as the oldest.

The spider never has to go to school to learn his task. So, the little duck can swim as soon as it is hatched. And the little bird can build its nest, and the bee can make the honey-comb, without any teaching.

These creatures are bern to have the power to do their work. And that is why they never make any blunders. Not all the weavers and spinners in the world could beat the spider in the work that he does.

The spider is never in a hurry. He always takes care to make every thread fast. He takes a pride in doing his work well.

All spiders have not the same kind of work to do. But they all do it in the very best way.

Some spiders are masons. These build houses, the size of a big thimble. They make doors to them, which they shut when they go in. It is even said that they are able to fasten the door of the house inside, so that robber can get in.

The garden spider lets its threads float in the air till they happen to take hold of plants or branches of trees. It then uses these threads as the roads or bridges by which it crosses from place to place.

A strange story is told of a spider saving his life by this means. He was put upon the end of a stick which stood a foot or two out of water. He was on a little island in the midst of a little sea.

What did he do? He walked down the stick to the edge of the water. He went round and round it; but he could find no way to get off.

He then went once more to the top of the stick, and kept still for a while. He seemed to say to himself, “Well, I am in a nice fix now;what am I to do?”

He soon made up his mind. For he at once began to spin a long thread. He made one end of it fast to the top of the stick; and let the thread float away in the wind till it caught a tree on the shore. He then slid along the line, and got safely to dry land at last!

Questions

What is every spider, when he is born? Who has taught him? What do the mason-spiders build? How does the garden-spider cross from place to place? What did the spider do when he was put on a stick in the water?

Pronunciation

spi'-der weav'-er teach'-ing spin'-ners rob'-ber

pic'-ture youn'-gest crea'-tures hur'-ry bridg'-es

mid'-dle old'-est pow'-er thim'-ble wa'-ter

look'-ing hon'-ey nev'-er ma'-sons him-self’

be-gins' with-out' blun-ders' hous'-es safe'-ly

Write

build thread float white

school caught pounce shore

你有没有见过图片中显示的小蜘蛛？小蜘蛛紧紧地盘在刚刚织好的网中间，准备捕猎一只苍蝇。

小蜘蛛非常爱劳动。一出生就开始工作。蜘蛛天生就会织网。甚至连最小的蜘蛛都能像年长的蜘蛛一样知道如何去织网。

蜘蛛从不需要去学校学习织网。同样，小鸭子一出生就知道如何游泳。小鸟天生就会筑巢，小蜜蜂天生就会建蜂窝，它们都不需要教。

这些生物天生具有劳动的力量。这是为何他们从不出大错的原因。并非世界上所有的纺织工以及纺织机都能抵得上蜘蛛的杰作。

蜘蛛从不慌忙。它总是快速仔细地织完每一天网线。蜘蛛以做好工作为荣。

并非所有蜘蛛都做完全相同的工作。但是它们都会尽最大全力做好。

一些蜘蛛是泥瓦匠。它们建造像顶针大小的房屋。它们给自己建造门，当它们进入房子后可以把门关上。甚至据说它们能从里面把门加固，那样的话强盗就进不去。

花园里的蜘蛛让网线飘浮在空气中，直到它们开始抓住植物或者树枝。然后它们就用这些网线作为路或者桥，就可以不停地穿梭。

下面就讲一个有一只蜘蛛正是用这种方法挽救了自己的生命的小故事。把一只蜘蛛放在离水面一两尺的木棍的顶端。周围是一小片海洋中间的一个小岛。

它该怎么办呢？它沿着木棍走到水边。它围着木棍转了转，没有找到离开的方法。

接着它又一次走到木棍的顶端，在那儿静静地待了一会儿。好像在对自己说，“我现在身处困境，我该怎么办呢？”

过了不久，它决定了。因为它立刻开始织了一段长长的网。它把网的一端紧紧缠在木棍顶端；让网随风飘浮直到它抓住岸上的一棵树。然后它他顺着网线滑落，最终安然无恙地到达陆地。