_THE BIG SPIDER'S DIAMONDS_
The sun-fairies were hiding behind a black cloud; but in the middle ofthe cloud there was a hole, and through this hole the sun-fairiespeeped.
In this way they were able to see everything that went on in the gardenwhere the Big Spider lived. If the Big Spider had looked up at the skyhe could have seen the sun-fairies peeping through the hole in the blackcloud; but he did not look up, because he was thinking of other things.He was in an excited state of mind.
Quite lately the Big Spider had spun a most beautiful web for himself,and had slung it between two tall blades of grass. He was very proud ofit, for it was the nicest web in all the garden, being of a lovely anddifficult pattern, and made with great skill. And now something hadhappened in the night to make it still more beautiful. While the BigSpider was asleep the dew-fairies had crept up from the grass, and hadhung hundreds of sparkling diamonds on the strings of his web. He knewit must have been done by the dew-fairies, because they only keep thevery best diamonds.
"Dear me, this is most kind of them," he said to himself. "They musthave noticed that my web was the best in the garden; otherwise theywould not have done it so much honour."
As a matter of fact, the dew-fairies had been hanging diamonds thatnight on the webs of all the spiders in the garden; but the Big Spiderwas so much occupied in admiring his own web that he had no attentionto spare for the others.
"Good morning," he said pleasantly to a fly who was passing. "Have youseen my diamonds? They look very well there, don't they? They show offthe pattern of the web. Won't you come a little closer? You can hardlysee them properly at that distance. One really sees them best when oneis inside the web. Can't you come in this morning?"
"No, thank you," said the fly firmly; for his mother had told him thatthe Big Spider was not a nice friend for little flies.
Then he flew away, and the Spider went on admiring his diamonds. Helooked at them first from the right, and then from the left, and then hestepped backwards and looked at them again. If you have ever seen aperson who paints pictures you will know exactly how he behaved.
All this time the sun-fairies had been peeping through the hole in theblack cloud and watching the Big Spider. They could not help laughing athim.
"Ridiculous creature!" cried one. "Look at him admiring his web, as ifit were the only one that had ever been hung with diamonds!"
"If he would look about him a little bit," said another, "he would seethat the whole garden is blazing with diamonds this morning."
"The very grass is all twinkly and shiny with them," said a third, "butthe grass-fairies are not behaving in that absurd way."
"No fairy would be so silly," said a fourth.
Suddenly a little sun-fairy began to clap his hands.
"I've got an idea," he cried.
As his ideas were generally full of mischief and very interesting, allthe other fairies stopped talking.
"It's a lovely idea," he went on, chuckling. "This is what we'll do.We'll wait till that silly old Spider goes to sleep or is busy, and thenwe'll rush down--quick as quick--and _steal his diamonds_!"
Then all the sun-fairies laughed and clapped their hands so loudly thatthe hole in the black cloud grew a good deal larger. They thought it wasa grand idea.
They had not long to wait. Presently the Spider became rather tired ofadmiring his diamonds all by himself, so he set to work to send outinvitations for a fly-party. He asked all the flies in the neighbourhoodto come and see how nice his web looked when it was hung with diamonds.As soon as the sun-fairies saw that he was busy they took each other'shands, and with a little run and a big jump they all burst through thehole in the black cloud. Then they flew softly down to the garden wherethe Big Spider lived.
"How nice and warm it is getting!" thought the Spider.
Presently he said to himself--
"My diamonds must be sparkling beautifully in this sunshine. I'll justtake a look at them."
He turned round, expecting to see the pattern of his web delicatelyoutlined in sparks of light. You will not be surprised to hear that hesaw nothing of the kind. He saw his web, it is true, looking like filmylace against the green of the grass; but there was not one singlediamond hanging upon it!
Then the rage of the Big Spider was terrible to see.
He stamped with all his legs, and he rolled himself round and round, andhe used all the most dreadful threats in spider-language.
"I don't care who the thief is," he said; "I shall think no more ofeating him than if he were a fly!"
At that moment he heard the sweetest little laugh just behind him. Thismade him so angry that he spent a long time in looking for the personwho laughed. While he was still searching the sun-fairies flew up againto the black clouds, carrying the diamonds with them.
"There," they said, as they threw the diamonds down on the cloud, "hewon't find them there!"
They had forgotten for the moment that, hidden in the black cloud, therewere a great number of rain-fairies. Now the rain-fairies never enjoythemselves so much as when they are annoying the sun-fairies: and in thesame way there is nothing that pleases the sun-fairies so much as a goodquarrel with the rain-fairies. This does not prevent them from beingvery friendly when they are not quarrelling.
The rain-fairies had seen all that had happened. They pretended to thinkthat the sun-fairies had behaved very unkindly to the Big Spider.
"It's too bad," they said, "to steal the poor thing's diamonds. It's notfair. Let's throw them down to him."
Then a great fight began between the sun-fairies and the rain-fairiesfor the diamonds, and the fight lasted a long time, and all the timethat it lasted the Big Spider was in a rage.
THE WEB AND THE DIAMONDS AND THE BIG SPIDER HIMSELF ALLFELL TO THE GROUND]
At last the rain-fairies won the fight, and went off with the diamondsin their arms.
"Now we'll throw them to the Big Spider," they said, "and we'll see howglad he is when his web is hung with diamonds as it was before."
They forgot that the dew-fairies, when they had trimmed the web with thediamonds, had crept up softly and touched the strings with gentlefingers. But the rain-fairies are rather rough.
They flung out their little arms and threw the diamonds down out of theblack cloud. Down dropped the diamonds, and down, and down, till theyreached the garden where the Big Spider lived, and the web that the BigSpider had made. But instead of hanging on the web in rows, like littlelighted lamps, they dropped into the middle of it with a crash and adash and a splash, and broke it into a great many pieces, so that theweb and the diamonds and the Big Spider himself all fell to the ground.
And by the time the Big Spider was standing on all his legs again thediamonds had disappeared into the grass.
The truth is that the dew-fairies had found them and had taken themhome. I expect they will keep them till the Big Spider has made a newweb.
Fairies I Have Met Page 8