Along
with all my siblings, we find out how wild it is to suddenly be born.
There are
a thousand and twelve siblings birthed at once. That’s a whole lot of
us. Counting
that high is out of my brain’s ability because I’m really too young to
know
that stuff. Luckily because I’m kind of nosey and listened to my
parents talk
to each other about all of us. I heard them talking about there being
far too
many of us to name so we’ll be naming ourselves. If they would have
named us, it
might have taken forever. I look around and see a mountain of tiny
spiders that
all look alike.
As
small as we are, we take off on our first trip to find homes of our own
as the
first burst of wind picks us up and we are carried off and away. We
don’t weigh
very much so the winds can grab us and just take us. We don’t have a
choice.
Whoosh,
away we go, into the sky. Above everything and everybody. We are
quickly far
far up really high. Maybe high enough to touch the moon or something.
We’re
being taken to places we never knew or heard about. It’s all
brand new,
just like us.
There’s
no choice where we are going and we don’t have any idea what our
destination
will be, at least for quite a while.
We scream loud good byes to each other, as the breeze scatters us away to new places. It’s really and truly scary. We are all frightened out of our minds as we float along in this wild ride. I’m still shocked at having more than a thousand siblings. Fear shows in all our expressive eyes now big and round, staring at the new unfamiliar world whizzing past at unbelievable speed. Our tiny mouths are open wide, Gosh, I hope I don’t have anything fly into my mouth.
There’s
a new panic experienced as
we all begin to wonder where our new place in this world will be.
Most
creatures can’t hear or see us at all. Which is so lucky because we
could be a
little snack by a hungry enemy, if spotted. Our present size would not
satisfy
any average appetite.
Holding
my breath from the strong air around me is difficult. I don’t know why
I try.
The winds carry leaves and debris, plus me and all my siblings. Two of my sisters and one brother whizz past.
we’ll never really know each other as there is no time to get
acquainted. Maybe
we will see each other in a later time.
A
lovely shrub catches my attention. I try my best
to get to it, sadly, it zips past as this
trip takes me along into this strange unknown. I’m really clutzy and
twist the
wrong way, flying off and away from my goal. The intended target is
gone. Oh,
no, this is really hard. My body twists like a pretzel and the winds
have their
way.
“Ugh!,
heading for trouble is inevitable.” Twisting
around some more since I don’t learn fast enough, and wiggle my tiny
self,
trying to pretend to be a talented acrobat is impossible since I will
randomly
end up landing on an unknown bush not my intended target.
A
new web trails me as I fly along air borne. An idea hits me. As my
single web
line flies behind me, I grab it to make a lasso then throw it onto the
nearest
leaf on a shrub. My web is as strong as steel. Crazy ideas sometimes
work when
they seem just right. Oooops, missed that one. Well, there I am simply
thinking
a thin fine strong web can set me to safety, and I know it can. Then a
tiny fly
gets caught in that little line. It’s very angry and yells at me then
struggling
to break free. The line carrying him gets caught in a V of a tree limb
and he
breaks away. I still hear him yelling complaints that diminish as I get
further
away.
“Hummmm,”
I must believe working hard will make the best web of all time. Now to
find the
exact right spot to do it without being yanked in the wrong direction.
The
air current still hurtles me along wildly, then suddenly stops,
slamming me
into a leaf. I’m shaken, but thankfully
not
bruised.
Overhead is another identical leaf like the one I’m standing on. The difference is that a bird happens to be sitting atop the branch directly above me. It’s a lovely blue bird and tweets a sweet sound.
Hiding
is a must or that bird will snack on me if I’m
“Now,
cautious and not moving in order to stay safe I hope.”
Thinking to myself.
Right
now staying still to remain alive is a
must. Eventually, thankfully, the
big blue bird flies away. That was scary. It’s not fun to worry about
being
eaten.
So
I decide to stay right here and build the best ever web. There isn’t
time to learn
how to build a super, stupendous, fantastic, gigantic web so must go on
pure
instinct now. Nature has given me clues. I barely know what a web is.
Hard
work pays off, eventually. My first attempt is absolutely pathetic. It
looks
like I had my eyes closed and moved randomly around in circles. Maybe it’s because I’m impeded by my lack of
how to do this process and that ignorance makes success a crap shoot.
Learn as
I go is my new mantra.
Happiness
fills me as this new web takes a recognizable shape. It’s a longer
process than
ever expected for sure. Maybe it’s because being impeded by my size is
the
problem. When I’m big making the perfect web will surely go faster.
Working
until nightfall has been exhausting. Finally, before dawn, the web is
finished
and now wait for the very first bug to be caught. I feel proud of
myself. This
feat has been accomplished just by me, all alone, without any help. The
problem
is being all alone and having nobody to share my triumphant success
with which is
awful. So, I’ll just sit in the middle of my brand new web and doze off
awhile.
A
sudden shake wakes me up. Looking around there is a
real big bug caught in the web. Here is my
first ever meal. It’s so exciting!
So
this new day is a success with a place to live, a web and food.
Not
bad. But there’s a problem. Still I’m
too small to eat that bug in just one
day. That’s O.K. Thankfully, growing
pretty fast will make everything easier so it won’t be too long a wait.
This
meal can last a full week. By then I’ll be nearly fully grown and right
now have
two other new bugs on the web. I’ve repaired it twice.
In
a few days there’s a third break so it’s time to move. It’s just not
worth all
the time and energy to repair anymore. It’s now ragged and old.
So
a new adventure begins. I climb down
from the shrub and venture across a walk-way and cement driveway.
Soon,
I climb up the huge smooth side of a vehicle where there is a
reflection in a
mirror that is on the side of the door. This is the perfect spot for my
new
home and figure out the reflection is me and stare at it for a bit to
be sure,
then make faces, wiggle, shake my arms, and discover what I look like
now makes
me wonder if I’m handsome or more to the point, really and truly ugly,
so ugly
I could scare any other bugs away from my web. Wow. Now I’m worried.
Examining
my new quiet surroundings, and being completely alone, it seems like
it’s time
to find company. “Well, there’s nobody to share with or talk to. But
this is
the neatest place I’ve ever seen. It’s
pretty and peaceful.
So
begins my greatest adventure
.
Practice
has made my web easier to make. Deciding to take advantage of a few
hours of
rest before dawn, comes needed sleep.
Unexpectedly,
I’m jerked, and shaken by a strong jolt. It rattles my entire body, web
and
nerves. Then the big vehicle roars to life. I’m quivering violently in
a
horrible wind, and hanging on for dear life. I look up to see the back
of the
mirror still holding my web.
Continuing
to look around, there’s only a blur seen by peeking side to side. I
scream
nonstop, maybe because I’m a wimp, but mainly because of the fear felt
clear
through from my head to all my tiny toes. The winds are making
everything
impossible.
Panic
fills me.
Failing
to stay still, in the middle of this whirlwind, and feeling it quiver
me violently,
I must pay close attention to survive. Now to think of an idea for a
solution,
it’s hard to do right now since this violent wind is a huge distraction.
Looking
up at the rear-view mirror checking my attached web, there is only one
strong
line left. Now I stretch up, extend my leg as far as possible, slowly,
every so
carefully, and use another long leg to continue until reaching the back
of the
mirror. If only the wind didn’t make shaking so awful, this all would
be easy.
I
breathe as slowly as possible as this gale makes breathing a tough
challenge. What
should I do next? It calms me a little to have a good plan. My new idea
excites
me. If I let loose, then make a line of web going into the complete
unknown,
winds should let me get away from this big vehicle and hopefully land
on the
ground where I can run for cover and find a bush or shrub.
I wish myself good luck.
WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE,
OHHHHHHHHH, with great speed, flying away from that mirror and vehicle
is faster
than expected. Landing hard on what happens to be a two-lane busy
street. Immediately
I must avoid a huge fast car that is coming right at me. Screaming
again, I’m
getting good at screaming, moving as fast as possible out of its way it
fortunately streaks past me without warning or hitting me.
I sure scream a lot through all this moving
around. Maybe I should learn opera!
Somehow,
with a great amount of good luck, I make it to the side of the road,
and climb up
onto a big sidewalk.
A
large growth of lawn is right in front of me, there are bushes around
the edge
of a park type area. Whew! It’s so good to be here.
Stopping
and still shaking from nerves, I try to calm down since I’m safe on
this
beautiful lawn and happy to have lived through all that death
threatening ordeal.
By folly, by golly, by holly, and feel thrilled and thankful to be safe
and
secure.
After
resting awhile, taking a look around carefully there is a site perfect
for a
new web. I see a few bugs flying around. What a great sign.
Settled
into the new web, pondering what to do next and studying my lovely
surroundings,
suddenly I’m surprised and excited to look across and see another shrub
where a
girl spider is working nearby. It’s stunning to see her amazing web.
Staring at
it, and realizing it’s different than any ever seen, I want to meet
her. This
web is a work of art and beautiful. Hummmmmm. Now to greet this
creative girl.
Excited,
carefully I make my way over to her.
Climbing
up the bush she is on, she is looking at me from the edge of her web.
“Hi,
I’m Smartie Artie.”
She
hasn’t taken her eyes off me as I get closer to her. She smiles and
says, “Hi,
I’m Talented Tess.”
“It’s
a pleasure to meet you. How long have you been here?”
“Four
sun rises. I’ve stayed because of having
a lot of success at this spot. The area around my web is full of
viewers every
day. I also have more than needed to eat as my web attracts a lot of
bugs. Are
you hungry?”
So
begins our true love story. I’m no longer alone.
“What
do you want to do with your wonderful artistic abilities, Tess?
Whatever you
want, I will help.”
“Oh,
Artie, my dream is to share every single web I make and watch
expressions of
those that notice what has been created. It inspires me to do so much
more. I’d
love your help.”
“You’ve
got it.”
Soon
we send off thousands of children of our own and begin a full exciting
year
that includes making new impressive creative artistic webs.
I
learn how to talk, the English language took time. Of course I use a
megaphone
to be heard and find talking to people surprises them but they do hear
me. I
describe her work and talk about how she got inspired. Now it helps my
darling
Tess.
One
day good fortune came to us. A gentleman was standing in front of us
and I
asked him his name. He jumped back, looked around and was in shock.
“Yes,
It’s me, I can talk. What’s your name?”
“Frank
Flynn, I am an independent advertising salesman.”
“Are
you interested in Tess’s work?”
“Yes,
her work is amazing and beautiful. I’ve never seen anything like it. I’d like to show these webs of hers
everywhere. No charge of course.”
“Well,
what do you need?”
“I
want to take photographs of her work. I will send them to many
tabloids,
newspapers, every media possible.”
“That
sound good. You have permission to go ahead and spread her news. Just
keep in
touch and make sure we have copies or at least see them.”
“That’s
a deal. How can you talk?”
“I
have no idea. I just worked at it. I figured if crows and parakeets can
talk,
so can I.”
So
Tess’s work is on its way to popularity.
Her
beautiful work will now be advertised after making the agreement with
Frank
Flynn. It’s a great opportunity. We soon become known everywhere.
“It’s
wonderful, Artie. To have help in spreading awareness of my webs of art
so they
will be known so children can learn and this idea will spread. Thank
you from
the bottom of my heart. I’m thrilled.”
Suddenly
we find ourselves in magazines, TV and
podcasts worldwide. Tess gives classes on the videos since we
can’t travel.
Our
life, though short, is amazing.
The
local newspaper reads:
“Smartie
Artie and Talented Tess push the standard limits of spider life, and
inspire
many.”
Tess
continues to make artistic webs well into her senior life with Artie by
her
side. All her webs are beautiful and unique.
She willingly teachers’ others her tricks, inspiring creative
ideas for
her audiences to work on.
We
are proud of the articles and photos in all the medias.
I
enjoy loving and being with my darling Tess.
We
spend our lives together. I fortunately can fix most anything. Even her
webs.
Tess makes every web beautiful with her unique talent.
A
photographer has taken pictures of her work, compiled all into a
magazine. It’s
taken many months.
Everyone
seems to be watching TV the day Tess is honored with a key to the city.
This is
her home town, at least where she ended up after birth and that weird
awful
wind that carried her along. She’s glad to have ended up here and
smiles at the
town Mayor. Knowing it’s impossible for her to lift or move the honored
key, and
thinking where would or could she put it? The key is bigger than her.
She
laughs at the thought but appreciates the honor. Since Smartie Artie
can speak
and has his megaphone, they all decide to have it put in the town’s
museum, at
his suggestion, and will include many dozens of pictures of her famous,
beautiful webs.
Tess
has now spent most of her life teaching and making webs. Young spiders
have gathered
around her in person and thousands have watched and listened on all
news medias.
“Hey,
Tess, I think it’s time to move again. I spotted a great bush where the
passersby can view your work easily. It’s just across the yard and next
to the
sidewalk. They continue to move often and meet others with joy and
friendly
spirit.
Stories
spring up about the two of them all the time. Their own children hear
about their
parents and what they have accomplished, even in faraway places.
They
are known as ‘THE ARTISTS’, Talented Tess and Smartie Artie, her
partner and manager.
This story is years old now but stays alive in sweet memory. Their life work is told and retold, living forever in history.
.