Diary of A Spider
By Doreen Cronin Pictures by Harry Bliss
March 1
Today was Grandparents Day at school,
so I brought Grampa with me.
He taught us three things:
1. Spiders are not insects
---insects have six legs.
2. Without spiders,
insects could take over the world.
3. Butterflies taste better
with a little barbecue sauce.
March 16
Grampa says that in his day,
flies and spiders did not get along.
Things are different now.
March 29
Today in gym class we learned how to catch the wind so we could travel to faraway places.
When I got home,
I made up flash cards so I could practice:
1. Climb high
2. Release silk
3. Catch wind
Fly made up her own flash card:
1. Fly
I'm starting to see
why Grampa doesn't like her.
April 1
Went to the park with my sister today.
We tried the seesaw.
It didn't work.
We tried the tire swing.
It didn't work.
We spun a huge sticky web
on the water fountain.
That worked.
April 12
Today was Safety Day at school.
We learned that vacuums eat spiderwebs
and are very, very dangerous.
If we hear a vacuum,
we should Stop, Drop, and Run.
April 13
We had a vacuum drill today.
I stopped what I was doing.
Forgot where I was going.
And ran screaming from the room.
We're having another drill tomorrow.
April 17
I'm sleeping over at Worm's house tonight.
I hope they don't have leaves
and rotten tomatoes for dinner again.
May 7
Mom said I was getting too big
for my own skin.
So I molted.
May 8
Today was show-and-tell.
So I brought in my old skin.
My teacher called on it
to lead the Pledge of Allegiance.
June 5
Daddy Longlegs made fun of Fly
because she eats with her feet.
Now she won't come out of her tree house.
I'm going to find him
and give him a piece of my mind!
June 6
I found Daddy Longlegs.
He's a lot bigger than I thought he was.
I gave him a piece of my lunch instead.
June 7
Fly's tree house blew away in the wind today.
So did Grampa.
June 18
I got a postcard from Grampa today.
June 30
Grampa came home today.
I couldn't wait to hear about
how he rode the winds
all the way over the ocean!
Turns out, he caught a breeze to the airport
and napped in first class.
July 2
Fly came over to play today.
She got stuck in our web,
and her mom had to come get her.
Grampa laughed a little too hard.
From now on, we have to play at Fly's house.
July 9
Today was my birthday.
Grampa decided I was old enough
to know the secret to a long, happy life:
Never fall asleep in a shoe.
July 16
Things I scare:
1. Fly's mom
2. Tiny bugs
3. People using water fountains at the park
July 17
Things that scare me:
1. Daddy Longlegs
2. Vacuums
3. People with big feet
August 1
I wish that people wouldn't judge all spiders
based on the few spiders that bite.
I know if we took the time
to get to know each other,
we would get along just fine.
Just like me and Fly.