Charlotte_s Web - E. B. White

1. BEFORE BREAKFASTII. WILBUR

III. ESCAPE 1.

LONELINESS 2.

CHARLOTTE 3.

SUMMER DAYS 4.

BAD NEWS 5.

A TALK AT HOME

6.

... WILBUR'S BOAST7.

AN EXPLOSION8.

THE MIRACLE9.

A MEETING10.

GOOD PROGRESS11.

DR. DORIAN12.

THE CRICKETS13.

Off To The Fair14.

UNCLE15.

THE COOL OF THE EVENING16.

THE EGG SAC17.

THE HOUR OF TRIUMPH18. LAST DAY19.

A WARM WINDCHAPTER 1Before Breakfast

Where's Papa going with that ax?\" said Fern to her

mother as they were setting the table for breakfast.

\"Out to the hoghouse,\" replied Mrs. Arable. \"Some pigswere born last night.\"

\"I don't see why he needs an ax,\" continued Fern, whowas only eight.

\"Well,\" said her mother, \"one of the pigs is a runt. It'svery small and weak, and it will never amount to anything.So your father has decided to do away with it.\"

\"Do away with it?\" shrieked Fern. \"You mean kill it? Justbecause it's smaller than the others?\"

Mrs. Arable put a pitcher of cream on the table. \"Don'tyell, Fern!\" she said. \"Your father is right. The pig wouldprobably die anyway.\"

Fern pushed a chair out of the way and ran outdoors.The grass was wet and the earth smelled of springtime.Fern's sneakers were sopping by the time she caught upwith her father.

\"Please don't kill it!\" she sobbed. \"It's unfair.\" Mr. Arable stopped walking.

\"Fern,\" he said gently, \"you will have to learn to controlyourself.\"

\"Control myself?\" yelled Fern. \"This is a matter of lifeand death, and you talk about _controlling myself.\" Tearsran down her cheeks and she took hold of the ax and triedto pull it out of her father's hand.

\"Fern,\" said Mr. Arable, \"I know more about raising alitter of pigs than you do. A weakling makes trouble. Nowrun along!\"

\"But it's unfair,\" cried Fern. \"The pig couldn't help beingborn small, could it? If I had been very small at birth, wouldyou have killed me?\"

Mr. Arable smiled. \"Certainly not,\" he said, looking downat his daughter with love. \"But this is different. A little girlis one thing, a little runty pig is another.\"

\"I see no difference,\" replied Fern, still hanging on to theax. \"This is the most terrible case of injustice I ever heardof.\"

A queer look came over John Arable's face. He seemedalmost ready to cry himself.

\"All right,\" he said. \"You go back to the house and I willbring the runt when I come in. I'll let you start it on abottle, like a baby. Then you'll see what trouble a pig canbe.\"

When Mr. Arable returned to the house half an hourlater, he carried a carton under his arm. Fern was upstairschanging her sneakers. The kitchen table was set forbreakfast, and the room smelled of coffee, bacon, dampplaster, and wood smoke from the stove.

\"Put it on her chair!\" said Mrs. Arable. Mr. Arable set thecarton down at Fern's place. Then he walked to the sinkand washed his hands and dried them on the roller towel.

Fern came slowly down the stairs. Her eyes were redfrom crying. As she approached her chair, the cartonwobbled, and there was a scratching noise. Fern looked ather father. Then she lifted the lid of the carton. There,inside, looking up at her, was the newborn pig. It was awhite one. The morning light shone through its ears,turning them pink.

\"He's yours,\" said Mr. Arable. \"Saved from an untimelydeath. And may the good Lord forgive me for thisfoolishness.\"

Fern couldn't take her eyes off the tiny pig. \"Oh,\" shewhispered. \"Oh, look at him! He's absolutely perfect.\"

She closed the carton carefully. First she kissed herfather, then she kissed her mother. Then she opened the lidagain, lifted the pig out, and held it against her cheek. Atthis moment her brother Avery came into the room. Averywas ten.

He was heavily armed - an air rifle in one hand, awooden dagger in the other.

\"What's that?\" he demanded. \"What's Fern got?\"

\"She's got a guest for breakfast,\" said Mrs. Arable. \"Washyour hands and face, Avery!\"

\"Let's see it!\" said Avery, setting his gun down. \"You callthat miserable thing a pig? That's a fine specimen of a pigit's no bigger than a white rat.\"

\"Wash up and eat your breakfast, Avery!\" said hismother.

\"The school bus will be along in half an hour.\" \"Can I have a pig, too, Pop?\" asked Avery.

\"No, I only distribute pigs to early risers,\" said Mr.Arable. \"Fern was up at daylight, trying to rid the world ofinjustice. As a result, she now has a pig. A small one, to besure, but nevertheless a pig. It just shows what can happenif a person gets out of bed promptly. Let's eat!\"

But Fern couldn't eat until her pig had had a drink ofmilk.

Mrs. Arable found a baby's nursing bottle and a rubbernipple. She poured warm milk into the bottle, fitted thenipple over the top, and handed it to Fern. \"Give him hisbreakfast!\" she said.

A minute later, Fern was seated on the floor in the cornerof the kitchen with her infant between her knees, teachingit to suck from the bottle. The pig, although tiny, had agood appetite and caught on quickly.

The school bus honked from the road.

\"Run!\" commanded Mrs. Arable, taking the pig from Fernand slipping a doughnut into her hand. Avery grabbed hisgun and another doughnut.

The children ran out to the road and climbed into thebus. Fern took no notice of the others in the bus. She justsat and stared out of the window, thinking what a blissfulworld it was and how lucky she was to have entire chargeof a pig. By the time the bus reached school, Fern hadnamed her pet, selecting the most beautiful name she couldthink of.

\"Its name is Wilbur,\" she whispered to herself.

She was still thinking about the pig when the teachersaid: \"Fern, what is the capital of Pennsylvania?\"

\"Wilbur,\" replied Fern, dreamily. The pupils giggled. Fernblushed.

CHAPTER 2

Wilbur

Fern loved Wilbur more than anything. She loved tostroke him, to feed him, to put him to bed. Every morning,as soon as she got up, she warmed his milk, tied his bib on,and held the bottle for him. Every afternoon, when theschool bus stopped in front of her house, she jumped outand ran to the kitchen to fix another bottle for him. She fedhim again at suppertime, and again just before going tobed. Mrs. Arable gave him a feeding around noontime eachday, when Fern was away in school. Wilbur loved his milk,and he was never happier than when Fern was warming upa bottle for him. He would stand and gaze up at her withadoring eyes.

For the first few days of his life, Wilbur was allowed tolive in a box near the stove in the kitchen. Then, when Mrs.Arable complained, he was moved to a bigger box in thewoodshed. At two weeks of age, he was moved outdoors. Itwas apple-blossom time, and the days were getting warmer.Mr. Arable fixed a small yard specially for Wilbur under anapple tree, and gave him a large wooden box full of straw,

with a doorway cut in it so he could walk in and out as hepleased.

\"Won't he be cold at night?\" asked Fern.

\"No,\" said her father. \"You watch and see what he does.\"

Carrying a bottle of milk, Fern sat down under the appletree inside the yard. Wilbur ran to her and she held thebottle for him while he sucked. When he had finished thelast drop, he grunted and walked sleepily into the box. Fernpeered through the door. Wilbur was poking the straw withhis snout. In a short time he had dug a tunnel in the straw.He crawled into the tunnel and disappeared from sight,completely covered with straw.

Fern was enchanted. It relieved her mind to know thather baby would sleep covered up, and would stay warm.

Every morning after breakfast, Wilbur walked out to theroad with Fern and waited with her till the bus came. Shewould wave good-bye to him, and he would stand andwatch the bus until it vanished around a turn. While Fernwas in school, Wilbur was shut up inside his yard. But as

soon as she got home in the afternoon, she would take himout and he would follow her around the place. If she wentinto the house, Wilbur went, too. If she went upstairs,Wilbur would wait at the bottom step until she came downagain. If she took her doll for a walk in the doll carriage,Wilbur followed along. Sometimes, on these journeys,Wilbur would get tired, and Fern would pick him up andput him in the carriage alongside the doll. He liked this.And if he was very tired, he would close his eyes and go tosleep under the doll's blanket. He looked cute when his eyeswere closed, because his lashes were so long. The dollwould close her eyes, too, and Fern would wheel thecarriage very slowly and smoothly so as not to wake herinfants.

One warm afternoon, Fern and Avery put on bathingsuits and went down to the brook for a swim. Wilburtagged along at Fern's heels. When she waded into thebrook, Wilbur waded in with her. He found the water quitecold - too cold for his liking. So while the children swam

and played and splashed water at each other, Wilburamused himself in the mud along the edge of the brook,where it was warm and moist and delightfully sticky andoozy.

Every day was a happy day, and every night waspeaceful.

Wilbur was what farmers call a spring pig, which simplymeans that he was born in springtime. When he was fiveweeks old, Mr. Arable said he was now big enough to sell,and would have to be sold. Fern broke down and wept. Buther father was firm about it. Wilbur's appetite hadincreased; he was beginning to eat scraps of food inaddition to milk. Mr. Arable was not willing to provide forhim any longer. He had already sold Wilbur's ten brothersand sisters.

\"He's got to go, Fern,\" he said. \"You have had your funraising a baby pig, but Wilbur is not a baby any longer andhe has got to be sold.\"

\"Call up the Zuckermans,\" suggested Mrs. Arable to Fern.\"Your Uncle Homer sometimes raises a pig. And if Wilburgoes there to live, you can walk down the road and visithim as often as you like.\"

\"How much money should I ask for him?\" Fern wantedto know.

\"Well,\" said her father, \"he's a runt. Tell your UncleHomer you've got a pig you'll sell for six dollars, and seewhat he says.\"

It was soon arranged. Fern phoned and got her AuntEdith, and her Aunt Edith hollered for Uncle Homer, andUncle Homer came in from the barn and talked to Fern.When he heard that the price was only six dollars, he saidhe would buy the pig. Next day Wilbur was taken from hishome under the apple tree and went to live in a manure pilein the cellar of Zuckerman's barn.

CHAPTER 3

Escape

The barn was very large. It was very old. It smelled ofhay and it smelled of manure. It smelled of the perspirationof tired horses and the wonderful sweet breath of patientcows. It often had a sort of peaceful smell - as thoughnothing bad could happen ever again in the world. Itsmelled of grain and of harness dressing and of axle greaseand of rubber boots and of new rope. And whenever the catwas given a fish-head to eat, the barn would smell of fish.But mostly it smelled of hay, for there was always hay inthe great loft up overhead. And there was always hay beingpitched down to the cows and the horses and the sheep.

The barn was pleasantly warm in winter when theanimals spent most of their time indoors, and it waspleasantly cool in summer when the big doors stood wideopen to the breeze. The barn had stalls on the main floor forthe work horses, tie-ups on the main floor for the cows, asheepfold down below for the sheep, a pigpen down belowfor Wilbur, and it was full of all sorts of things that youfind in barns: ladders, grindstones, pitch forks, monkey

wrenches, scythes, lawn mowers, snow shovels, ax handles,milk pails, water buckets, empty grain sacks, and rusty rattraps. It was the kind of barn that swallows like to buildtheir nests in. It was the kind of barn that children like toplay in. And the whole thing was owned by Fern's uncle,Mr. Homer L. Zuckerman.

Wilbur's new home was in the lower part of the barn,directly underneath the cows. Mr. Zuckerman knew that amanure pile is a good place to keep a young pig. Pigs needwarmth, and it was warm and comfortable down there inthe barn cellar on the south side.

Fern came almost every day to visit him. She found anold milking stool that had been discarded, and she placedthe stool in the sheepfold next to Wilbur's pen. Here she satquietly during the long afternoons, thinking and listeningand watching Wilbur. The sheep soon got to know her andtrust her. So did the geese, who lived with the sheep. Allthe animals trusted her, she was so quiet and friendly. Mr.Zuckerman did not allow her to take Wilbur out, and he did

not allow her to get into the pigpen. But he told Fern thatshe could sit on the stool and watch Wilbur as long as shewanted to. It made her happy just to be near the pig, and itmade Wilbur happy to know that she was sitting there,right outside his pen. But he never had any fun no walks,no rides, no swims.

One afternoon in June, when Wilbur was almost twomonths old, he wandered out into his small yard outsidethe barn. Fern had not arrived for her usual visit. Wilburstood in the sun feeling lonely and bored.

\"There's never anything to do around here,\" he thought.He walked slowly to his food trough and sniffed to see ifanything had been overlooked at lunch. He found a smallstrip of potato skin and ate it. His back itched, so he leanedagainst the fence and rubbed against the boards. When hetired of this, he walked indoors, climbed to the top of themanure pile, and sat down. He didn't feel like going tosleep, he didn't feel like digging, he was tired of standingstill, tired of lying down. \"I'm less than two months old and

I'm tired of living,\" he said. He walked out to the yardagain.

\"When I'm out here,\" he said, \"there's no place to go butin. When I'm indoors, there's no place to go but out in theyard.\"

\"That's where you're wrong, my friend, my friend,\" saida voice.

Wilbur looked through the fence and saw the goosestanding there.

\"You don't have to stay in that dirty-little dirty-littledirty-little yard,\" said the goose, who talked rather fast.\"One of the boards is loose. Push on it, push-push-push onit, and come on out!\"

\"What?\" said Wilbur. \"Say it slower!\"

\"At-at-at, at the risk of repeating myself,\" said the goose,\"I suggest that you come on out. It's wonderful out here.\"

\"Did you say a board was loose?\"

\"That I did, that I did,\" said the goose.

Wilbur walked up to the fence and saw that the goosewas right - one board was loose. He put his head down,shut his eyes, and pushed. The board gave way. In a minutehe had squeezed through the fence and was standing in thelong grass outside his yard. The goose chuckled.

\"How does it feel to be free?\" she asked.

\"I like it,\" said Wilbur. \"That is, I _guess I like it.\"

Actually, Wilbur felt queer to be outside his fence, withnothing between him and the big world.

\"Where do you think I'd better go?\"

\"Anywhere you like, anywhere you like,\" said the goose.\"Go down through the orchard, root up the sod! Go downthrough the garden, dig up the radishes! Root upeverything! Eat grass! Look for corn! Look for oats! Run allover! Skip and dance, jump and prance! Go down throughthe orchard and stroll in the woods! The world is awonderful place when you're young.\"

\"I can see that,\" replied Wilbur. He gave a jump in theair, twirled, ran a few steps, stopped, looked all around,sniffed the smells of afternoon, and then set off walkingdown through the orchard. Pausing in the shade of an appletree, he put his strong snout into the ground and beganpushing, digging, and rooting. He felt very happy. He hadplowed up quite a piece of ground before anyone noticedhim. Mrs. Zuckerman was the first to see him. She saw himfrom the kitchen window, and she immediately shouted forthe men.

\"Ho-mer!\" she cried. \"Pig's out! Lurvy! Pig's out! Homer! Lurvy! Pig's out. He's down there under that apple tree.\"

\"Now the trouble starts,\" thought Wilbur. \"Now I'll catchit.\"

The goose heard the racket and she, too, startedhollering.

\"Run-run-run downhill, make for the woods, the woods!\"she shouted to Wilbur. \"They'll never-never-never catchyou in the woods.\"

The cocker spaniel heard the commotion and he ran outfrom the barn to join the chase. Mr. Zuckerman heard, andhe came out of the machine shed where he was mending atool. Lurvy, the hired man, heard the noise and came upfrom the asparagus patch where he was pulling weeds.Everybody walked toward Wilbur and Wilbur didn't knowwhat to do. The woods seemed a long way off, andanyway, he had never been down there in the woods andwasn't sure he would like it.

\"Get around behind him, Lurvy,\" said Mr. Zuckerman,\"and drive him toward the barn! And take it easy - don'trush him!

I'll go and get a bucket of slops.\"

The news of Wilbur's escape spread rapidly among theanimals on the place. Whenever any creature broke looseon Zuckerman's farm, the event was of great interest to theothers. The goose shouted to the nearest cow that Wilburwas free, and soon all the cows knew. Then one of the cowstold one of the sheep, and soon all the sheep knew. The

lambs learned about it from their mothers. The horses, intheir stalls in the barn, pricked up their ears when theyheard the goose hollering; and soon the horses had caughton to what was happening. \"Wilbur's out,\" they said. Everyanimal stirred and lifted its head and became excited toknow that one of his friends had got free and was no longerpenned up or tied fast.

Wilbur didn't know what to do or which way to run. Itseemed as though everybody was after him. \"If this is whatit's like to be free,\" he thought, \"I believe I'd rather bepenned up in my own yard.\"

The cocker spaniel was sneaking up on him from oneside, Lurvy the hired man was sneaking up on him from theother side. Mrs. Zuckerman stood ready to head him off ifhe started for the garden, and now Mr. Zuckerman wascoming down toward him carrying a pail. \"This is reallyawful,\" thought Wilbur. \"Why doesn't Fern come?\" Hebegan to cry.

The goose took command and began to give orders.

\"Don't just stand there, Wilbur! Dodge about, dodgeabout!\"

cried the goose. \"Skip around, run toward me, slip in andout, in and out, in and out! Make for the woods! Twist andturn!\"

The cocker spaniel sprang for Wilbur's hind leg. Wilburjumped and ran. Lurvy reached out and grabbed. Mrs.Zuckerman screamed at Lurvy. The goose cheered forWilbur. Wilbur dodged between Lurvy's legs. Lurvy missedWilbur and grabbed the spaniel instead.

\"Nicely done, nicely done!\" cried the goose. \"Try it again,try it again!\"

\"Run downhill!\" suggested the cows. \"Run toward me!\" yelled the gander. \"Run uphill!\" cried the sheep.

\"Turn and twist!\" honked the goose.

\"Jump and dance!\" said the rooster.\"Look out for Lurvy!\" called the cows.\"Look out for Zuckerman!\" yelled the gander.\"Watch out for the dog!\" cried the sheep.\"Listen to me, listen to me!\" screamed the goose.Poor Wilbur was dazed and frightened by this

hullabaloo. He didn't like being the center of all this fuss.He tried to follow the instructions his friends were givinghim, but he couldn't run downhill and uphill at the sametime, and he couldn't turn and twist when he was jumpingand dancing, and he was crying so hard he could barely seeanything that was happening.

After all, Wilbur was a very young pig - not much morethan a baby, really. He wished Fern were there to take himin her arms and comfort him. When he looked up and sawMr. Zuckerman standing quite close to him, holding a pailof warm slops, he felt relieved. He lifted his nose andsniffed. The smell was delicious - warm milk, potato skins,wheat middlings, Kellogg's Corn Flakes, and a popover left

from the Zuckermans' breakfast.

\"Come, pig!\" said Mr. Zuckerman, tapping the pail.\"Come pig!\"

Wilbur took a step toward the pail.

\"No-no-no!\" said the goose. \"It's the old pail trick, Wilbur.Don't fall for it, don't fall for it! He's trying to lure you backinto captivity-ivity. He's appealing to your stomach.\"

Wilbur didn't care. The food smelled appetizing. He tookanother step toward the pail.

\"Pig, pig!\" said Mr. Zuckerman in a kind voice, and beganwalking slowly toward the barnyard, looking all about himinnocently, as he didn't know that a little white pig wasfollowing along behind him.

\"You'll be sorry-sorry-sorry,\" called the goose.

Wilbur didn't care. He kept walking toward the pail ofslops.

\"You'll miss your freedom,\" honked the goose. \"An hourof freedom is worth a barrel of slops.\"

Wilbur didn't care.

When Mr. Zuckerman reached the pigpen, he climbedover the fence and poured the slops into the trough. Thenhe pulled the loose board away from the fence, so that therewas a wide hole for Wilbur to walk through.

\"Reconsider, reconsider!\" cried the goose.

Wilbur paid no attention. He stepped through the fenceinto his yard. He walked to the trough and took a longdrink of slops, sucking in the milk hungrily and chewingthe popover. It was good to be home again.

While Wilbur ate, Lurvy fetched a hammer and some 8-penny nails and nailed the board in place. Then he and Mr.Zuckerman leaned lazily on the fence and Mr. Zuckermanscratched Wilbur's back with a stick.

\"He's quite a pig,\" said Lurvy.

\"Yes, he'll make a good pig,\" said Mr. Zuckerman.

Wilbur heard the words of praise. He felt the warm milkinside his stomach. He felt the pleasant rubbing of the stickalong his itchy back. He felt peaceful and happy and sleepy.

This had been a tiring afternoon. It was still only about fouro'clock but Wilbur was ready for bed.

\"I'm really too young to go out into the world alone,\" hethought as he lay down.

CHAPTER 4 Loneliness

The next day was rainy and dark. Rain fell on the roof ofthe barn and dripped steadily from the eaves. Rain fell inthe barnyard and ran in crooked courses down into the lanewhere thistles and pigweed grew. Rain spattered againstMrs. Zuckerman's kitchen windows and came gushing outof the downspouts. Rain fell on the backs of the sheep asthey grazed in the meadow. When the sheep tired ofstanding in the rain, they walked slowly up the lane andinto the fold.

Rain upset Wilbur's plans. Wilbur had planned to go out,this day, and dig a new hole in his yard. He had otherplans, too. His plans for the day went something like this:

Breakfast at six-thirty. Skim milk, crusts, middlings, bitsof doughnuts, wheat cakes with drops of maple syrupsticking to them, potato skins, leftover custard puddingwith raisins, and bits of Shredded Wheat.

Breakfast would be finished at seven.

From seven to eight, Wilbur planned to have a talk withTempleton, the rat that lived under his trough. Talking withTempleton was not the most interesting occupation in theworld but it was better than nothing.

From eight to nine, Wilbur planned to take a napoutdoors in the sun.

From nine to eleven he planned to dig a hole, or trench,and possibly find something good to eat buried in the dirt.

From eleven to twelve he planned to stand still andwatch flies on the boards, watch bees in the clover, andwatch swallows in the air.

Twelve o'clock - lunchtime. Middlings, warm water,apple parings, meat gravy, carrot scrapings, meat scraps,stale hominy, and the wrapper off a package of cheese.

Lunch would be over at one.

From one to two, Wilbur planned to sleep.

From two to three, he planned to scratch itchy places byrubbing against the fence.

From three to four, he planned to stand perfectly still andthink of what it was like to be alive, and to wait for Fern.

At four would come supper. Skim milk, provender,leftover sandwich from Lurvy's lunchbox, prune skins, amorsel of this, a bit of that, fried potatoes, marmaladedrippings, a little more of this, a little more of that, a pieceof baked apple, a scrap of upsidedown cake.

Wilbur had gone to sleep thinking about these plans. Heawoke at six, and saw the rain, and it seemed as though hecouldn't bear it.

\"I get everything all beautifully planned out and it has togo and rain,\" he said.

For a while he stood gloomily indoors. Then he walkedto the door and looked out. Drops of rain struck his face.His yard was cold and wet. His trough had an inch of

rainwater in it. Templeton was nowhere to be seen.

\"Are you out there, Templeton?\" called Wilbur. Therewas no answer. Suddenly Wilbur felt lonely and friendless.

\"One day just like another,\" he groaned. \"I'm very young,I have no real friend here in the barn, it's going to rain allmorning and all afternoon, and Fern won't come in suchbad weather. Oh, honestly!\" And Wilbur was crying again,for the second time in two days.

At six-thirty Wilbur heard the banging of a pail. Lurvywas standing outside in the rain, stirring up breakfast.

\"C'mon, pig!\" said Lurvy.

Wilbur did not budge. Lurvy dumped the slops, scrapedthe pail, and walked away. He noticed that something waswrong with the pig.

Wilbur didn't want food, he wanted love. He wanted afriend - someone who would play with him. He mentionedthis to the goose, who was sitting quietly in a corner of thesheepfold.

\"Will you come over and play with me?\" he asked.

\"Sorry, sonny, sorry,\" said the goose. \"I'm sitting-sittingon my eggs. Eight of them. Got to keep them toasty-oasty-oasty warm. I have to stay right here, I'm no flibberty-ibberty-gibbet. I do not play when there are eggs to hatch.I'm expecting goslings.\"

\"Well, I didn't think you were expecting woodpeckers,\"said Wilbur, bitterly.

Wilbur next tried one of the lambs.

\"Will you please play with me?\" he asked.

\"Certainly not,\" said the lamb. \"In the first place, I cannotget into your pen, as I am not old enough to jump over thefence. In the second place, I am not interested in pigs. Pigsmean less than nothing to me.\"

\"What do you mean, less than nothing?\" replied Wilbur.\"I don't think there is any such thing as less than nothing.Nothing is absolutely the limit of nothingness. It's thelowest you can go. It's the end of the line. How cansomething be less than nothing? If there were something

that was less than nothing, then nothing would not benothing, it would be something - even though it's just avery little bit of something. But if nothing is nothing, thennothing has nothing that is less than it is.\"

\"Oh, be quiet! \" said the lamb. \"Go play by yourself! Idon't play with pigs.\"

Sadly, Wilbur lay down and listened to the rain. Soon hesaw the rat climbing down a slanting board that he used asa stairway.

\"Will you play with me, Templeton?\" asked Wilbur.

\"Play?\" said Templeton, twirling his whiskers. \"Play? Ihardly know the meaning of the word.\"

\"Well,\" said Wilbur, \"it means to have fun, to frolic, torun and skip and make merry.\"

\"I never do those things if I can avoid them,\" replied therat, sourly. \"I prefer to spend my time eating, gnaw-ing,spying, and hiding. I am a glutton but not a merry-maker.Right now I am on my way to your trough to eat yourbreakfast, since you haven't got sense enough to eat it

yourself.\" And Templeton, the rat, crept stealthily along thewall and disappeared into a private tunnel that he had dugbetween the door and the trough in Wilbur's yard.Templeton was a crafty rat, and he had things pretty muchhis own way. The tunnel was an example of his skill andcunning. The tunnel enabled him to get from the barn to hishiding place under the pig trough without coming out intothe open. He had tunnels and runways all over Mr.Zuckerman's farm and could get from one place to anotherwithout being seen. Usually he slept during the daytimeand was abroad only after dark.

Wilbur watched him disappear into his tunnel. In amoment he saw the rat's sharp nose poke out fromunderneath the wooden trough. Cautiously Templetonpulled himself up over the edge of the trough. This wasalmost more than Wilbur could stand: on this dreary, rainyday to see his breakfast being eaten by somebody else. Heknew Templeton was getting soaked, out there in thepouring rain, but even that didn't comfort him. Friendless,

dejected, and hungry, he threw himself down in themanure and sobbed.

Late that afternoon, Lurvy went to Mr. Zuckerman. \"Ithink there's something wrong with that pig of yours. Hehasn't touched his food.\"

\"Give him two spoonfuls of sulphur and a littlemolasses,\" said Mr. Zuckerman.

Wilbur couldn't believe what was happening to himwhen Lurvy caught him and forced the medicine down histhroat. This was certainly the worst day of his life. Hedidn't know whether he could endure the awful lonelinessany more.

Darkness settled over ever thing. Soon there were onlyshadows and the noises of the sheep chewing their cuds,and occasionally the rattle of a cow-chain up overhead. Youcan imagine Wilbur's surprise when, out of the darkness,came a small voice he had never heard before. It soundedrather thin, but pleasant. \"Do you want a friend, Wilbur?\" itsaid. \"I'll be a friend to you. I've watched you all day and I

like you.\"

\"But I can't see you,\" said Wilbur, jumping to his feet. \"Where are you? And who are you?\"

\"I'm right up here,\" said the voice. \"Go to sleep. You'll seeme in the morning.\"

CHAPTER 5 Charlotte

The night seemed long. Wilbur's stomach was empty andhis mind was full. And when your stomach is empty andyour mind is full, it's always hard to sleep.

A dozen times during the night Wilbur woke and staredinto the blackness, listening to the sounds and trying tofigure out what time it was. A barn is never perfectly quiet.Even at midnight there is usually something stirring.

The first time he woke, he heard Templeton gnawing ahole in the grain bin. Templeton's teeth scraped loudlyagainst the wood and made quite a racket. \"That crazy rat!\"thought Wilbur. \"Why does he have to stay up all night,

grinding his clashers and destroying people's property?Why can't he go to sleep, like any decent animal?\"

The second time Wilbur woke, he heard the gooseturning on her nest and chuckling to herself.

\"What time is it?\" whispered Wilbur to the goose.

\"Probably-obably-obably about half-past eleven,\" said thegoose. \"Why aren't you asleep, Wilbur?\"

\"Too many things on my mind,\" said Wilbur.

\"Well,\" said the goose, \"that's not my trouble. I havenothing at all on my mind, but I've too many things undermy behind. Have you ever tried to sleep while sitting oneight eggs?\"

\"No,\" replied Wilbur. \"I suppose it is uncomfortable. Howlong does it take a goose egg to hatch?\"

\"Approximately-oximately thirty days, all told,\"answered the goose. \"But I cheat a little. On warmafternoons, I just pull a little straw over the eggs and go outfor a walk.\"

Wilbur yawned and went back to sleep. In his dreams heheard again the voice saying, \"I'll be a friend to you. Go tosleep - you'll see me in the morning.\"

About half an hour before dawn, Wilbur woke andlistened.

The barn was still dark. The sheep lay motionless. Eventhe goose was quiet. Overhead, on the main floor, nothingstirred: the cows were resting, the horses dozed. Templetonhad quit work and gone off somewhere on an errand. Theonly sound was a slight scraping noise from the rooftop,where the weather-vane swung back and forth. Wilburloved the barn when it was like this calm and quiet,waiting for light.

\"Day is almost here,\" he thought. Through a smallwindow, a faint gleam appeared. One by one the stars wentout. Wilbur could see the goose a few feet away. She satwith head tucked under a wing. Then he could see thesheep and the lambs. The sky lightened.

\"Oh, beautiful day, it is here at last! Today I shall findmy friend.\"

Wilbur looked everywhere. He searched his penthoroughly. He examined the window ledge, stared up atthe ceiling. But he saw nothing new. Finally he decided hewould have to speak up. He hated to break the lovelystillness of day by using his voice, but he couldn't think ofany other way to locate the mysterious new friend whowas nowhere to be seen. So Wilbur cleared his throat.

\"Attention, please!\" he said in a loud, firm voice. \"Willthe party who addressed me at bedtime last night kindlymake himself or herself known by giving an appropriatesign or signal!\"

Wilbur paused and listened. All the other animals liftedtheir heads and stared at him. Wilbur blushed. But he wasdetermined to get in touch with his unknown friend.

\"Attention, please!\" he said. \"I will repeat the message.

Will the party who addressed me at bedtime last nightkindly speak up. Please tell me where you are, if you are

my friend!\"

The sheep looked at each other in disgust.

\"Stop your nonsense, Wilbur!\" said the oldest sheep. \"Ifyou have a new friend here, you are probably disturbing hisrest; and the quickest way to spoil a friendship is to wakesomebody up in the morning before he is ready. How canyou be sure your friend is an early riser?\"

\"I beg everyone's pardon,\" whispered Wilbur. \"I didn'tmean to be objectionable.\"

He lay down meekly in the manure, facing the door. Hedid not know it, but his friend was very near. And the oldsheep was right - the friend was still asleep.

Soon Lurvy appeared with slops for breakfast. Wilburrushed out, ate everything in a hurry, and licked thetrough. The sheep moved off down the lane, the ganderwaddled along behind them, pulling grass. And then, just asWilbur was settling down for his morning nap, he heardagain the thin voice that had addressed him the nightbefore.

\"Salutations!\" said the voice.

Wilbur jumped to his feet. \"Salu-what?\" he cried. \"Salutations!\" repeated the voice.

\"What are they, and where are you?\" screamed Wilbur.\"Please, please, tell me where you are. And what aresalutations?\"

\"Salutations are greetings,\" said the voice. \"When I say'salutations,' it's just my fancy way of saying hello or goodmorning. Actually, it's a silly expression, and I am surprisedthat I used it at all. As for my whereabouts, that's easy.Look up here in the corner of the doorway! Here I am.Look, I'm waving!\"

At last Wilbur saw the creature that had spoken to himin such a kindly way. Stretched across the upper part of thedoorway was a big spiderweb, and hanging from the top ofthe web, head down, was a large grey spider. She wasabout the size of a gumdrop. She had eight legs, and shewas waving one of them at Wilbur in friendly greeting.\"See me now?\" she asked.

\"Oh, yes indeed,\" said Wilbur. \"Yes indeed! How are you?

Good morning! Salutations! Very pleased to meet you.What is your name, please? May I have your name?\"

\"My name,\" said the spider, \"is Charlotte.\"\"Charlotte what?\" asked Wilbur, eagerly.\"Charlotte A. Cavatica. But just call me Charlotte.\"\"I think you're beautiful,\" said Wilbur.

\"Well, I am pretty,\" replied Charlotte. \"There's no

denying that. Almost all spiders are rather nice-looking. I'mnot as flashy as some, but I'll do. I wish I could see you,Wilbur, as clearly as you can see me.\"

\"Why can't you?\" asked the pig. \"I'm right here.\"

\"Yes, but I'm near-sighted,\" replied Charlotte. \"I'vealways been dreadfully near-sighted. It's good in someways, not so good in others. Watch me wrap up this fly.\"

A fly that had been crawling along Wilbur's trough hadflown up and blundered into the lower part of Charlotte'sweb and was tangled in the sticky threads. The fly was

beating its wings furiously, trying to break loose and freeitself.

\"First said Charlotte, \"I dive at him.\" She plungedheadfirst toward the fly. As she dropped, a tiny silkenthread unwound from her rear end.

\"Next, I wrap him up.\" She grabbed the fly, threw a fewjets of silk around it, and rolled it over and over, wrappingit so that it couldn't move. Wilbur watched in horror. Hecould hardly believe what he was seeing, and although hedetested flies, he was sorry for this one.

\"There!\" said Charlotte. \"Now I knock him out, so he'll bemore comfortable.\" She bit the fly. \"He can't feel a thingnow,\" she remarked. \"He'll make a perfect breakfast for me.\"

\"You mean you eat flies?\" gasped Wilbur.

\"Certainly. Flies, bugs, grasshoppers, choice beetles,moths, butterflies, tasty cockroaches, gnats, midges, daddylonglegs, centipedes, mosquitoes, crickets - anything that iscareless enough to get caught in my web. I have to live,don't I?\"

\"Why, yes, of course,\" said Wilbur. \"Do they taste good?\"

\"Delicious. Of course, I don't really eat them. I drinkthem - drink their blood. I love blood,\" said Charlotte, andher pleasant, thin voice grew even thinner and morepleasant.

\"Don't say that!\" groaned Wilbur. \"Please don't saythings like that!\"

\"Why not? It's true, and I have to say what is true. I amnot entirely happy about my diet of flies and bugs, but it'sthe way I'm made. A spider has to pick up a livingsomehow or other, and I happen to be a trapper. I justnaturally build a web and trap flies and other insects. Mymother was a trapper before me.

Her mother was a trapper before her. All our family havebeen trappers. Way back for thousands and thousands ofyears we spiders have been laying for flies and bugs.\"

\"It's a miserable inheritance,\" said Wilbur, gloomily. Hewas sad because his new friend was so bloodthirsty.

\"Yes, it is,\" agreed Charlotte. \"But I can't help it. I don'tknow how the first spider in the early days of the worldhappened to think up this fancy idea of spinning a web, butshe did, and it was clever of her, too. And since then, all ofus spiders have had to work the same trick. It's not a badpitch, on the whole.\"

\"It's cruel,\" replied Wilbur, who did not intend to beargued out of his position.

\"Well, you can't talk \" said Charlotte. \"You have yourmeals brought to you in a pail. Nobody feeds me. I have toget in own living. I live by my wits. I have to be sharp andclever, lest I go hungry. I have to think things out, catchwhat I can, take what comes. And it just so happens, myfriend, that what comes is flies and insects and bugs. Andfurthermore,\" said Charlotte, shaking one of her legs, \"doyou realize that if I didn't catch bugs and eat them, bugswould increase and multiply and get so numerous thatthey'd destroy the earth, wipe out everything?\"

\"Really?\" said Wilbur. \"I wouldn't want that to happen.Perhaps your web is a good thing after all.\"

The goose had been listening to this conversation andchuckling to herself. \"There are a lot of things Wilburdoesn't know about life,\" she thought. \"He's really a veryinnocent little pig. He doesn't even know what's going tohappen to him around Christmastime; he has no idea thatMr. Zuckerman and Lurvy are plotting to kill him.\" And thegoose raised herself a bit and poked her eggs a little furtherunder her so that they would receive the full heat from herwarm body and soft feathers.

Charlotte stood quietly over the fly, preparing to eat it.

Wilbur lay down and closed his eyes. He was tired fromhis wakeful night and from the excitement of meetingsomeone for the first time. A breeze brought him the smellof clover - the sweet-smelling world beyond his fence.\"Well,\" he thought, \"I've got a new friend, all right. Butwhat a gamble friendship is!

Charlotte is fierce, brutal, scheming, bloodthirsty -everything I don't like. How can I learn to like her, eventhough she is pretty and, of course, clever?\"

Wilbur was merely suffering the doubts and fears thatoften go with finding a new friend. In good time he was todiscover that he was mistaken about Charlotte. Underneathher rather bold and cruel exterior, she had a kind heart, andshe was to prove loyal and true to the very end.

CHAPTER 6 Summer Days

The early summer days on a farm are the happiest andfairest days of the year. Lilacs bloom and make the airsweet, and then fade. Apple blossoms come with the lilacs,and the bees visit around among the apple trees. The daysgrow warm and soft. School ends, and children have timeto play and to fish for trouts in the brook. Avery oftenbrought a trout home in his pocket, warm and stiff andready to be fried for supper.

Now that school was over, Fern visited the barn almostevery day, to sit quietly on her stool. The animals treatedher as an equal. The sheep lay calmly at her feet.

Around the first of July, the work horses were hitched tothe mowing machine, and Mr. Zuckerman climbed into theseat and drove into the field. All morning you could hearthe rattle of the machine as it went round and round, whilethe tall grass fell down behind the cutter bar in long greenswathes. Next day, if there was no thunder shower, allhands would help rake and pitch and load, and the haywould be hauled to the barn in the high hay wagon, withFern and Avery riding at the top of the load. Then the haywould be hoisted, sweet and warm, into the big loft, untilthe whole barn seemed like a wonderful bed of timothy andclover. It was fine to jump in, and perfect to hide in. Andsometimes Avery would find a little grass snake in the hay,and would add it to the other things in his pocket.

Early summer days are a jubilee time for birds. In thefields, around the house, in the barn, in the woods, in the

swamp - everywhere love and songs and nests and eggs.From the edge of the woods, the white-throated sparrow(which must come all the way from Boston) calls, \"Oh,Peabody, Peabody, Peabody!\" On an apple bough, thephoebe teeters and wags its tail and says, \"Phoebe, phoe-bee! \" The song sparrow, who knows how brief and lovelylife is, says, \"Sweet, sweet, sweet interlude; sweet, sweet,sweet interlude.\" If you enter the barn, the swallows swoopdown from their nests and scold. \"Cheeky, cheeky!\" theysay.

In early summer there are plenty of things for a child toeat and drink and suck and chew. Dandelion stems are fullof milk, clover heads are loaded with nectar, the Frigidaireis full of ice-cold drinks. Everywhere you look is life; eventhe little ball of spit on the weed stalk, if you poke it apart,has a green worm inside it. And on the under side of theleaf of the potato vine are the bright orange eggs of thepotato bug.

It was on a day in early summer that the goose eggshatched.

This was an important event in the barn cellar. Fern wasthere, sitting on her stool, when it happened.

Except for the goose herself, Charlotte was the first toknow that the goslings had at last arrived. The goose knewa day in advance that they were coming - she could heartheir weak voices calling from inside the egg. She knewthat they were in a desperately cramped position inside theshell and were most anxious to break through and get out.So she sat quite still, and talked less than usual.

When the first gosling poked its grey-green head throughthe goose's feathers and looked around, Charlotte spied itand made the announcement.

\"I am sure,\" she said, that every one of us here will begratified to learn that after four weeks of unremitting effortand patience on the part of our friend the goose, she nowhas something to show for it. The goslings have arrived.May I offer my sincere congratulations!\"

\"Thank you, thank you, thank you!\" said the goose,nodding and bowing shamelessly.

\"Thank you,\" said the gander.

\"Congratulations! \" shouted Wilbur. \"How many goslingsare there? I can only see one.\"

\"There are seven,\" said the goose.

\"Fine!\" said Charlotte. \"Seven is a lucky number.\"

\"Luck had nothing to do with this,\" said the goose. \"Itwas good management and hard work.\"

At this point, Templeton showed his nose from hishiding place under Wilbur's trough. He glanced at Fern,then crept cautiously toward the goose, keeping close to thewall. Everyone watched him, for he was not well liked, nottrusted.

\"Look,\" he began in his sharp voice, \"you say you haveseven goslings. There were eight eggs. What happened tothe other egg? Why didn't it hatch?\"

\"It's a dud, I guess,\" said the goose.

\"What are you going to do with it?\" continuedTempleton, his little round beady eyes fixed on the goose.

\"You can have it,\" replied the goose. \"Roll it away andadd it to that nasty collection of yours.\" (Templeton had ahabit of picking up unusual objects around the farm andstoring them in his home. He saved everything.)

\"Certainly-ertainly-ertainly,\" said the gander. \"You mayhave the egg. But I'll tell you one thing, Templeton, if I evercatch you poking-oking-oking your ugly nose around ourgoslings, I'll give you the worst pounding a rat ever took.\"And the gander opened his strong wings and beat the airwith them to show his power. He was strong and brave, butthe truth is, both the goose and the gander were worriedabout Templeton. And with good reason. The rat had nomorals, no conscience, no scruples, no consideration, nodecency, no milk of rodent kindness, no compunctions, nohigher feeling, no friendliness, no anything. He would kill agosling if he could get away with it - the goose knew that.

Everybody knew it.

With her broad bill the goose pushed the unhatched eggout of the nest, and the entire company watched in disgustwhile the rat rolled it away. Even Wilbur, who could eatalmost anything, was appalled. \"Imagine wanting a junkyold rotten egg!\" he muttered.

\"A rat is a rat,\" said Charlotte. She laughed a tinklinglittle laugh. \"But, my friends, if that ancient egg everbreaks, this barn will be untenable.\"

\"What's that mean?\" asked Wilbur.

\"It means nobody will be able to live here on account ofthe smell. A rotten egg is a regular stink bomb.\"

\"I won't break it,\" snarled Templeton. \"I know what I'mdoing. I handle stuff like this all the time.\"

He disappeared into his tunnel, pushing the goose egg infront of him. He pushed and nudged till he succeeded inrolling it to his lair under the trough.

That afternoon, when the wind had died down and thebarnyard was quiet and warm, the grey goose led her seven

goslings off the nest and out into the world. Mr. Zuckermanspied them when he came with Wilbur's supper.

\"Well, hello there!\" he said, smiling all over. \"Let's see ...one, two, three, four, five, six, seven. Seven baby geese.

Now isn't that lovely! CHAPTER 7 Bad News

Wilbur liked Charlotte better and better each day. Hercampaign against insects seemed sensible and useful.Hardly anybody around the farm had a good word to sayfor a fly. Flies spent their time pestering others. The cowshated them. The horses detested them. The sheep loathedthem. Mr. and Mrs. Zuckerman were always complainingabout them, and putting up screens.

Wilbur admired the way Charlotte managed. He wasparticularly glad that she always put her victim to sleepbefore eating it.

\"It's real thoughtful of you to do that, Charlotte,\" he said.

\"Yes,\" she replied in her sweet, musical voice, \"I alwaysgive them an anaesthetic so they won't feel pain. It's a littleservice I throw in.\"

As the days went by, Wilbur grew and grew. He atethree big meals a day. He spent long hours lying on hisside, half asleep, dreaming pleasant dreams. He enjoyedgood health and he gained a lot of weight. One afternoon,when Fern was sitting on her stool, the oldest sheep walkedinto the barn, and stopped to pay a call on Wilbur.

\"Hello!\" she said. \"Seems to me you're putting onweight.\"

\"Yes, I guess I am,\" replied Wilbur. \"At my age it's a goodidea to keep gaining.\"

\"Just the same, I don't envy you,\" said the old sheep.\"You know why they're fattening you up, don't you?\"

\"No,\" said Wilbur.

\"Well, I don't like to spread bad news,\" said the sheep,\"but they're fattening you up because they're going to killyou, that's why.\"

\"They're going to what?\" screamed Wilbur. Fern grewrigid on her stool.

\"Kill you. Turn you into smoked bacon and ham,\"continued the old sheep. \"Almost all young pigs getmurdered by the farmer as soon as the real cold weathersets in. There's a regular conspiracy around here to kill youat Christmastime. Everybody is in the plot - Lurvy,Zuckerman, even John Arable.\"

\"Mr. Arable?\" sobbed Wilbur. \"Fern's father?\"

\"Certainly. When a pig is to be butchered, everybodyhelps.

I'm an old sheep and I see the same thing, same oldbusiness, year after year. Arable arrives with his .22, shootsthe ...\"

\"Stop!\" screamed Wilbur. \"I don't want to die! Save me,somebody! Save me!\" Fern was just about to jump up whena voice was heard.

\"Be quiet, Wilbur!\" said Charlotte, who had beenlistening to this awful conversation.

\"I can't be quiet,\" screamed Wilbur, racing up and down.\"I don't want to be killed. I don't want to die. Is it true whatthe old sheep says, Charlotte? Is it true they are going tokill me when the cold weather comes?\"

\"Well,\" said the spider, plucking thoughtfully at her web,\"the old sheep has been around this barn a long time. Shehas seen many a spring pig come and go. If she says theyplan to kill you, I'm sure it's true. It's also the dirtiest trick Iever heard of. What people don't think of!\"

Wilbur burst into tears. \"I don't want to die,\" he moaned.

\"I want to stay alive, right here in my comfortablemanure pile with all my friends. I want to breathe thebeautiful air and lie in the beautiful sun.\"

\"You're certainly making a beautiful noise,\" snapped theold sheep.

\"I don't want to die!\" screamed Wilbur, throwing himselfto the ground.

\"You shall not die,\" said Charlotte, briskly.

\"What? Really?\" cried Wilbur. \"Who's going to save me?\" \"I am,\" said Charlotte. \"How?\" asked Wilbur.

\"That remains to be seen. But I am going to save you,and I want you to quiet down immediately. You're carryingon in a childish way. Stop your crying! I can't standhysterics.\"

CHAPTER 8 A Talk At Home

On Sunday morning Mr. and Mrs. Arable and Fern weresitting at breakfast in the kitchen. Avery had finished andwas upstairs looking for his slingshot.

\"Did you know that Uncle Homer's goslings hadhatched?\"

asked Fern.

\"How many?\" asked Mr. Arable.

\"Seven,\" replied Fern. \"There were eight eggs but one eggdidn't hatch and the goose told Templeton she didn't want

it any more, so he took it away.\"

\"The goose did what?\" asked Mrs. Arable, gazing at herdaughter with a queer, worried look.

\"Told Templeton she didn't want the egg any more,\"repeated Fern.

\"Who is Templeton?\" asked Mrs. Arable.

\"He's the rat,\" replied Fern. \"None of us like him much.\" \"Who's 'us'?\" asked Mr. Arable.

\"Oh, everybody in the barn cellar. Wilbur and the sheepand the lambs and the goose and the gander and thegoslings and Charlotte and me.\"

\"Charlotte?\" said Mrs. Arable. \"Who's Charlotte?\" \"She's Wilbur's best friend. She's terribly clever.\" \"What does she look like?\" asked Mrs. Arable.

\"Well-l,\" said Fern, thoughtfully, \"she has eight legs. Allspiders do, I guess.\"

\"Charlotte is a spider?\" asked Fern's mother.

Fern nodded. \"A big grey one. She has a web across thetop of Wilbur's doorway. She catches flies and sucks theirblood. Wilbur adores her.\"

\"Does he really?\" said Mrs. Arable, rather vaguely. Shewas staring at Fern with a worried expression on her face.

\"Oh, yes, Wilbur adores Charlotte,\" said Fern. \"Do youknow what Charlotte said when the goslings hatched?

\"I haven't the faintest idea,\" said Mr. Arable. \"Tell us.\"

\"Well, when the first gosling stuck its little head out fromunder the goose, I was sitting on my stool in the corner andCharlotte was on her web. She made a speech. She said: 'Iam sure that every one of us here in the barn cellar will begratified to learn that after four weeks of unremitting effortand patience on the part of the goose, she now hassomething to show for it.\" Don't you think that was apleasant thing for her to say?\"

\"Yes, I do,\" said Mrs. Arable. \"And now, Fern, it's time toget ready for Sunday School. And tell Avery to get ready.And this afternoon you can tell me more about what goes

on in Uncle Homer's barn. Aren't you spending quite a lotof time there? You go there almost every afternoon, don'tyou?\"

\"I like it there,\" replied Fern. She wiped her mouth andran upstairs. After she had left the room, Mrs. Arable spokein a low voice to her husband.

\"I worry about Fern,\" she said. \"Did you hear the wayshe rambled on about the animals, pretending that theytalked?\"

Mr. Arable chuckled.

\"Maybe they do talk,\" he said. \"I've sometimes wondered.At any rate, don't worry about Fern - she's just got a livelyimagination. Kids think they hear all sorts of things.\"

\"Just the same, I do worry about her,\" replied Mrs.Arable. \"I think I shall ask Dr. Dorian about her the nexttime I see him. He loves Fern almost as much as we do, andI want him to know how queerly she is acting about thatpig and everything. I don't think it's normal. You knowperfectly well animals don't talk.\"

Mr. Arable grinned. \"Maybe our ears aren't as sharp asFern's,\" he said.

CHAPTER 9 Wilbur's Boast

A spider's is stronger than it looks. Although it is madeof thin, delicate strands, the web is not easily broken.However, a web gets torn every day by the insects that kickaround in it, and a spider must rebuild it when it gets full ofholes. Charlotte liked to do her weaving during the lateafternoon, and Fern liked to sit nearby and watch. Oneafternoon she heard a most interesting conversation andwitnessed a strange event.

\"You have awfully hairy legs, Charlotte,\" said Wilbur, asthe spider busily worked at her task.

\"My legs are hairy for a good reason,\" replied Charlotte.\"Furthermore, each leg of mine has seven sections - thecoxa, the trochanter, the femur, the patella, the tibia, themetatarsus, and the tarsus.\"

Wilbur sat bolt upright. \"You're kidding,\" he said. \"No, I'm not, either.\"

\"Say those names again, I didn't catch them the first time.

\"Coxa, trochanter, femur, patella, tibia, metatarsus, andtarsus.\"

\"Goodness!\" said Wilbur, looking down at his ownchubby legs. \"I don't think my legs have seven sections.\"

\"Well,\" said Charlotte, \"you and I lead different lives.You don't have to spin a web. That takes real leg work.\"

\"I could spin a web if I tried,\" said Wilbur, boasting. \"I've just never tried.\"

\"Let's see you do it,\" said Charlotte. Fern chuckled softly,and her eyes grew wide with love for the pig.

\"O.K.,\" replied Wilbur. \"You coach me and I'll spin one. Itmust be a lot of fun to spin a web. How do I start?\"

\"Take a deep breath!\" said Charlotte, smiling. Wilburbreathed deeply. \"Now climb to the highest place you canget to, like this.\" Charlotte raced up to the top of the

doorway. Wilbur scrambled to the top of the manure pile.

\"Very good!\" said Charlotte. \"Now make an attachmentwith your spinnerets, hurl yourself into space, and let out adragline as you go down!\"

Wilbur hesitated a moment, then jumped out into the air.He glanced hastily behind to see if a piece of rope wasfollowing him to check his fall, but nothing seemed to behappening in his rear, and the next thing he knew helanded with a thump. \"Ooomp!\" he grunted.

Charlotte laughed so hard her web began to sway.

\"What did I do wrong?\" asked the pig, when herecovered from his bump.

\"Nothing,\" said Charlotte. \"It was a nice try.\"

\"I think it try again,\" said Wilbur, cheerfully. \"I believewhat I need is a little piece of string to hold me.\"

The pig walked out to his yard. \"You there, Templeton?\"he called. The rat poked his head out from under thetrough.

\"Got a little piece of string I could borrow?\" askedWilbur.

\"I need it to spin a web.\"

\"Yes, indeed,\" replied Templeton, who saved string. \"Notrouble at all. Anything to oblige.\" He crept down into hishole, pushed the goose egg out of the way, and returnedwith an old piece of dirty white string. Wilbur examined it.

\"That's just the thing,\" he said. \"Tie one end to my tail,will you, Templeton?\"

Wilbur crouched low, with his thin, curly tail toward therat. Templeton seized the string, passed it around the end ofthe pig's tail, and tied two half hitches. Charlotte watchedin delight. Like Fern, she was truly fond of Wilbur, whosesmelly pen and stale food attracted the flies that sheneeded, and she was proud to see that he was not a quitterand was willing to try again to spin a web.

While the rat and the spider and the little girl watched,Wilbur climbed again to the top of the manure pile, full ofenergy and hope.

\"Ever body watch!\" he cried. And summoning all hisstrength, he threw himself into the air, headfirst. The stringtrailed behind him. But as he had neglected to fasten theother end to anything, it didn't really do any good, andWilbur landed with a thud, crushed and hurt. Tears came tohis eyes. Templeton grinned. Charlotte just sat quietly.After a bit she spoke.

\"You can't spin a web, Wilbur, and I advise you to putthe idea out of your mind. You lack two things needed forspinning a web.\"

\"What are they?\" asked Wilbur, sadly.

\"You lack a set of spinnerets, and you lack know-how.But cheer up, you don't need a web. Zuckerman suppliesyou with three big meals a day. Why should you worryabout trapping food?\"

Wilbur sighed. \"You're ever so much cleverer andbrighter than I am, Charlotte. I guess I was just trying toshow off. Serves me right.\"

Templeton untied his string and took it back to his home.Charlotte returned to her weaving.

\"You needn't feel too badly, Wilbur,\" she said. \"Not manycreatures can spin webs. Even men aren't as good at it asspiders, although they think they're pretty good, and they'lltry anything. Did you ever hear of the QueensboroughBridge?\"

Wilbur shook his head. \"Is it a web?\"

\"Sort of,\" replied Charlotte. \"But do you know how longit took men to build it? Eight whole years. My goodness, Iwould have starved to death waiting that long. I can makea web in a single evening.\"

\"What do people catch in the Queensborough Bridge -bugs?\"

asked Wilbur.

\"No,\" said Charlotte. \"They don't catch anything. Theyjust keep trotting back and forth across the bridge thinkingthere is something better on the other side. If they'd hanghead-down at the top of the thing and wait quietly, maybe

something good would come along. But no - with men it'srush, rush, rush, every minute. I'm glad I'm a sedentaryspider.\"

\"What does sedentary mean?\" asked Wilbur.

\"Means I sit still a good part of the time and don't gowandering all over creation. I know a good thing when Isee it, and my web is a good thing. I stay put and wait forwhat comes. Gives me a chance to think.\"

\"Well, I'm sort of sedentary myself, I guess,\" said the pig.

\"I have to hang around here whether I want to or not.You know where I'd really like to be this evening?\"

\"Where?\"

\"In a forest looking for beechnuts and truffles anddelectable roots, pushing leaves aside with my wonderfulstrong nose, searching and sniffing along the ground,smelling, smelling, smelling...\"

\"You smell just the way you are,\" remarked a lamb whohad just walked in. \"I can smell you from here. You're thesmelliest creature in the place.\"

Wilbur hung his head. His eyes grew wet with tears.

Charlotte noticed his embarrassment and she spokesharply to the lamb.

\"Let Wilbur alone!\" she said. \"He has a perfect right tosmell, considering his surroundings. You're no bundle ofsweet peas yourself. Furthermore, you are interrupting avery pleasant conversation. What were we talking about,Wilbur, when we were so rudely interrupted?

\"Oh, I don't remember,\" said Wilbur. \"It doesn't make anydifference. Let's not talk any more for a while, Charlotte.I'm getting sleepy. You go ahead and finish fixing your weband I'll just lie here and watch you. It's a lovely evening.\"Wilbur stretched out on his side.

Twilight settled over Zuckerman's barn, and a feeling ofpeace. Fern knew it was almost suppertime but she couldn'tbear to leave. Swallows passed on silent wings, in and outof the doorways, bringing food to their young ones. Fromacross the road a bird sang \"Whippoorwill, whippoorwill!\"Lurvy sat down under an apple tree and lit his pipe; the

animals sniffed the familiar smell of strong tobacco. Wilburheard the trill of the tree toad and the occasional slammingof the kitchen door. All these sounds made him feelcomfortable and happy, for he loved life and loved to be apart of the world on a summer evening. But as he lay therehe remembered what the old sheep had told him. Thethought of death came to him and he began to tremble withfear.

\"Charlotte?\" he said, softly. \"Yes, Wilbur?\"

\"I don't want to die.\"

\"Of course you don't,\" said Charlotte in a comfortingvoice.

\"I just love it here in the barn,\" said Wilbur. \"I loveeverything about this place.\"

\"Of course you do,\" said Charlotte. \"We all do.\"

The goose appeared, followed by her seven goslings.They thrust their little necks out and kept up a musicalwhistling, like a tiny troupe of pipers. Wilbur listened to the

sound with love in his heart.

\"Charlotte?\" he said. \"Yes?\" said the spider.

\"Were you serious when you promised you would keepthem from killing me?\"

\"I was never more serious in my life. I am not going tolet you die, Wilbur.\"

\"How are you going to save me?\" asked Wilbur, whosecuriosity was very strong on this point.

\"Well,\" said Charlotte, vaguely, \"I don't really know. ButI'm working on a plan.\"

\"That's wonderful,\" said Wilbur. \"How is the plancoming, Charlotte? Have you got very far with it? Is itcoming along pretty well?\" Wilbur was trembling again,but Charlotte was cool and collected.

\"Oh, it's coming all right,\" she said, lightly. \"The plan isstill in its early stages and hasn't completely shaped up yet,but I'm working on it.\"

\"When do you work on it?\" begged Wilbur.

\"When I'm hanging head-down at the top of my web.That's when I do my thinking, because then all the blood isin my head.\"

\"I'd be only too glad to help in any way I can.\"

\"Oh, I'll work it out alone,\" said Charlotte. \"I can thinkbetter if I think alone.\"

\"All right,\" said Wilbur. \"But don't fail to let me know ifthere's anything I can do to help, no matter how slight.\"

\"Well,\" replied Charlotte, \"you must try to build yourselfup. I want you to get plenty of sleep, and stop worrying.Never hurry and never worry! Chew your food thoroughlyand eat every bit of it, except you must leave just enoughfor Templeton. Gain weight and stay well - that's the wayyou can help. Keep fit, and don't lose your nerve. Do youthink you understand?\"

\"Yes, I understand,\" said Wilbur.

\"Go along to bed, then,\" said Charlotte. \"Sleep isimportant.\"

Wilbur trotted over to the darkest corner of his pen andthrew himself down. He closed his eyes. In another minutehe spoke.

\"Charlotte?\" he said. \"Yes, Wilbur?\"

\"May I go out to my trough and see if I left any of mysupper? I think I left just a tiny bit of mashed potato.\"

\"Very well,\" said Charlotte. \"But I want you in bed againwithout delay.\"

Wilbur started to race out to his yard.

\"Slowly, slowly!\" said Charlotte. \"Never hurry and neverworry!\"

Wilbur checked himself and crept slowly to his trough.He found a bit of potato, chewed it carefully, swallowed it,and walked back to bed. He closed his eyes and was silentfor a while.

\"Charlotte?\" he said, in a whisper.

\"Yes?

\"May I get a drink of milk? I think there are a few dropsof milk left in my trough.\"

\"No, the trough is dry, and I want you to go to sleep. Nomore talking! Close your eyes and go to sleep!\"

Wilbur shut his eyes. Fern got up from her stool andstarted for home, her mind full of everything she had seenand heard.

\"Good night, Charlotte!\" said Wilbur.\"Good night, Wilbur!\"There was a pause.\"Good night, Charlotte!\"\"Good night, Wilbur!\"\"Good night!\"\"Good night!\"CHAPTER 10An Explosion

Day after day the spider waited, head-down, for an ideato come to her. Hour by hour she sat motionless, deep inthought.

Having promised Wilbur that she would save his life, shewas determined to keep her promise. Charlotte wasnaturally patient.

She knew from experience that if she waited longenough, a fly would come to her web; and she felt sure thatif she thought long enough about Wilbur's problem, an ideawould come to her mind.

Finally, one morning toward the middle of July, the ideacame. \"Why, how perfectly simple!\" she said to herself. \"Theway to save Wilbur's life is to play a trick on Zuckerman. IfI can fool a bug,\" thought Charlotte, \"I can surely fool aman. People are not as smart as bugs.\"

Wilbur walked into his yard just at that moment. \"What are you thinking about, Charlotte? \" he asked.

\"I was just thinking,\" said the spider, \"that people arevery gullible.\"

\"What does 'gullible' mean?\" \"Easy to fool,\" said Charlotte.

\"That's a mercy,\" replied Wilbur, and he lay down in theshade of his fence and went fast asleep. The spider,however, stayed wide awake, gazing affectionately at himand making plans for his future. Summer was half gone.She knew she didn't have much time.

That morning, just as Wilbur fell asleep, Avery Arablewandered into the Zuckerman's front yard, followed byFern. Avery carried a live frog in his hand. Fern had acrown of daisies in her hair. The children ran for thekitchen.

\"Just in time for a piece of blueberry pie,\" said Mrs.Zuckerman.

\"Look at my frog!\" said Avery, placing the frog on thedrainboard and holding out his hand for pie.

\"Take that thing out of here!\" said Mrs. Zuckerman.

\"He's hot,\" said Fern. \"He's almost dead, that frog.\"

\"He is not,\" said Avery. \"He lets me scratch him betweenthe eyes.\" The frog jumped and landed in Mrs. Zuckerman'sdishpan full of soapy water.

\"You're getting your pie on you,\" said Fern. \"Can I lookfor eggs in the henhouse, Aunt Edith?\"

\"Run outdoors, both of you! And don't bother the hens!\"

\"It's getting all over everything,\" shouted Fern. \"His pie isall over his front.\"

\"Come on, frog!\" cried Avery. He scooped up his frog.The frog kicked, splashing soapy water onto the blueberrypie.

\"Another crisis!\" groaned Fern.

\"Let's swing in the swing!\" said Avery. The children ran to the barn.

Mr. Zuckerman had the best swing in the county. It wasa single long piece of heavy rope tied to the beam over thenorth doorway. At the bottom end of the rope was a fatknot to sit on.

It was arranged so that you could swing without beingpushed. You climbed a ladder to the hayloft. Then, holdingthe rope, you stood at the edge and looked down, and werescared and dizzy. Then you straddled the knot, so that itacted as a seat. Then you got up all your nerve, took a deepbreath, and jumped. For a second you seemed to be fallingto the barn floor far below, but then suddenly the ropewould begin to catch you, and you would sail through thebarn door going a mile a minute, with the wind whistlingin your eyes and ears and hair. Then you would zoomupward into the sky, and look up at the clouds, and therope would twist and you would twist and turn with therope. Then you would drop down, down, down out of thesky and come sailing back into the barn almost into thehayloft, then sail out again (not quite so far this time), thenin again (not quite so high), then out again, then in again,then out, then in; and then you'd jump off and fall downand let somebody else try it.

Mothers for miles around worried about Zuckerman'sswing.

They feared some child would fall off. But no child everdid. Children almost always hang onto things tighter thantheir parents think they will.

Avery put the frog in his pocket and climbed to thehayloft.

\"The last time I swang in this swing, I almost crashedinto a barn swallow,\" he yelled.

\"Take that frog out!\" ordered Fern.

Avery straddled the rope and jumped. He sailed outthrough the door, frog and all, and into the sky, frog andall. Then he sailed back into the barn.

\"Your tongue is purple!\" screamed Fern.

\"So is yours!\" cried Avery, sailing out again with thefrog.

\"I have hay inside my dress! It itches!\" called Fern.

\"Scratch it!\" yelled Avery, as he sailed back. \"It's my turn,\" said Fern. \"Jump off!\" \"Fern's got the itch!\" sang Avery.

When he jumped off, he threw the swing up to his sister.She shut her eyes tight and jumped. She felt the dizzy drop,then the supporting lift of the swing. When she opened hereyes she was looking up into the blue sky and was about tofly back through the door.

They took turns for an hour.

When the children grew tired of swinging they wentdown toward the pasture and picked wild raspberries andate them.

Their tongues turned from purple to red. Fern bit into araspberry that had a bad-tasting bug inside it, and gotdiscouraged. Avery found an empty candy box and put hisfrog in it. The frog seemed tired after his morning in theswing. The children walked slowly up toward the barn.They, too, were tired and hardly had energy enough towalk.

\"Let's build a tree house,\" suggested Avery. \"I want tolive in a tree, with my frog.\"

\"I'm going to visit Wilbur,\" Fern announced.

They climbed the fence into the lane and walked lazilytoward the pigpen. Wilbur heard them coming and got up.

Avery noticed the spider web, and, coming closer, he sawCharlotte.

\"Hey, look at that big spider!\" he said. \"It's tremenjus.\"

\"Leave it alone!\" commanded Fern. \"You've got a frog -isn't that enough?\"

\"That's a fine spider and I'm going to capture it,\" saidAvery. He took the cover off the candy box. Then he pickedup a stick. \"I'm going to knock that ol' spider into this box,\"he said.

Wilbur's heart almost stopped when he saw what wasgoing on.

This might be the end of Charlotte if the boy succeededin catching her.

\"You stop it, Avery!\" cried Fern.

Avery put one leg over the fence of the pigpen. He wasjust about to raise his stick to hit Charlotte when he lost hisbalance. He swayed and toppled and landed on the edge ofWilbur's trough. The trough tipped up and then came downwith a slap. The goose egg was right underneath. Therewas a dull explosion as the egg broke, and then a horriblesmell.

Fern screamed. Avery jumped to his feet. The air wasfilled with the terrible gases and smells from the rotten egg.Templeton, who had been resting in his home, scuttledaway into the barn.

\"Good night!\" screamed Avery. \"Good night! What astink!

Let's get out of here!\"

Fern was crying. She held her nose and ran toward thehouse. Avery ran after her, holding his nose.

Charlotte felt greatly relieved to see him go. It had beena narrow escape.

Later on that morning, the animals came up from thepasture - the sheep, the lambs, the gander, the goose, andthe seven goslings. There were many complaints about theawful smell, and Wilbur had to tell the story over and overagain, of how the Arable boy had tried to capture Charlotte,and how the smell of the broken egg drove him away justin time. \"It was that rotten goose egg that saved Charlotte'slife,\" said Wilbur.

The goose was proud of her share in the adventure. \"I'mdelighted that the egg never hatched,\" she gabbled.

Templeton, of course, was miserable over the loss of hisbeloved egg. But he couldn't resist boasting. \"It pays to savethings,\" he said in his surly voice. \"A rat never knows whensomething is going to, come in handy. I never throwanything away.\"

\"Well,\" said one of the lambs, \"this whole business is allwell and good for Charlotte, but what about the rest of us?The smell is unbearable. Who wants to live in a barn that isperfumed with rotten egg?\"

\"Don't worry, you'll net used to it,\" said Templeton. Hesat up and pulled wisely at his long whiskers, then creptaway to pay a visit to the dump.

When Lurvy showed up at lunchtime carrying a pail offood for Wilbur, he stopped short a few paces from thepigpen. He sniffed the air and made a face.

\"What in thunder?\" he said. Setting the pail down, hepicked up the stick that Avery had dropped and pried thetrough up. \"Rats! \" he said. \"Fhew! I might a'known a ratwould make a nest under this trough. How I hate a rat!\"

And Lurvy dragged Wilbur's trough across the yard andkicked some dirt into the rat's nest, burying the broken eggand all Templeton's other possessions. Then he picked upthe pail. Wilbur stood in the trough, drooling with hunger.Lurvy poured. The slops ran creamily down around thepig's eyes and ears. Wilbur grunted. He gulped and sucked,and sucked and gulped, making swishing and swooshingnoises, anxious to get everything at once. It was a deliciousmeal - skim milk, wheat middlings, leftover pancakes, half a

doughnut, the rind of a summer squash, two pieces of staletoast, a third of a gingersnap, a fish tail, one orange peel,several noodles from a noodle soup, the scum off a cup ofcocoa, an ancient jelly roll, a strip of paper from the liningof the garbage pail, and a spoonful of raspberry jello.

Wilbur ate heartily. He planned to leave half a noodleand a few drops of milk for Templeton. Then heremembered that the rat had been useful in savingCharlotte's life, and that Charlotte was trying to save hislife. So he left a whole noodle, instead of a half.

Now that the broken egg was buried, the air cleared andthe barn smelled good again. The afternoon passed, andevening came.

Shadows lengthened. The cool and kindly breath ofevening entered through doors and windows. Astride herweb, Charlotte sat moodily eating a horsefly and thinkingabout the future. After a while she bestirred herself.

She descended to the center of the web and there shebegan to cut some of her lines. She worked slowly but

steadily while the other creatures drowsed. None of theothers, not even the goose, noticed that she was at work.Deep in his soft bed, Wilbur snoozed. Over in their favoritecorner, the goslings whistled a night song.

Charlotte tore quite a section out of her web, leaving anopen space in the middle. Then she started weavingsomething to take the place of the threads she had removed.When Templeton got back from the dump, aroundmidnight, the spider was still at work.

CHAPTER 11 The Miracle

The next day was foggy. Everything on the farm wasdripping wet. The grass looked like a magic carpet. Theasparagus patch looked like a silver forest.

On foggy mornings, Charlotte's web was truly a thing ofbeauty. This morning each thin strand was decorated withdozens of tiny beads of water. The web glistened in thelight and made a pattern of loveliness and mystery, like adelicate veil. Even Lurvy, who wasn't particularly

interested in beauty, noticed the web when he came withthe pig's breakfast. He noted how clearly it showed up andhe noted how big and carefully built it was. And then hetook another look and he saw something that made him sethis pail down. There, in the center of the web, neatlywoven in block letters, was a message. It said:

SOME PIG!

Lurvy felt weak. He brushed his hand across his eyes andstared harder at Charlotte's web.

\"I'm seeing things,\" he whispered. He dropped to hisknees and uttered a short prayer. Then, forgetting all aboutWilbur's breakfast, he walked back to the house and calledMr. Zuckerman.

\"I think you'd better come down to the pigpen,\" he said.

\"What's the trouble?\" asked Mr. Zuckerman. \"Anythingwrong with the pig?\"

\"N-not exactly,\" said Lurvy. \"Come and see for yourself.\"

The two men walked silently down to Wilbur's yard.Lurvy pointed to the spider's web. \"Do you see what I see?\"

he asked.

Zuckerman stared at the writing on the web. Then hemurmured the words \"Some Pig.\" Then he looked at Lurvy.Then they both began to tremble. Charlotte, sleepy after hernight's exertions, smiled as she watched. Wilbur came andstood directly under the web.

\"Some pig!\" muttered Lurvy in a low voice.

\"Some pig!\" whispered Mr. Zuckerman. They stared andstared for a long time at Wilbur. Then they stared atCharlotte.

\"You don't suppose that that spider ...\" began Mr.Zuckerman - but he shook his head and didn't finish thesentence. Instead, he walked solemnly back up to the houseand spoke to his wife. \"Edith, something has happened,\" hesaid, in a weak voice. He went into the living room and satdown, and Mrs. Zuckerman followed.

\"I've got something to tell you, Edith,\" he said. \"Youbetter sit down.\"

Mrs. Zuckerman sank into a chair. She looked pale andfrightened.

\"Edith,\" he said, trying to keep his voice steady, \"I thinkyou had best be told that we have a very unusual pig.\"

A look of complete bewilderment came over Mrs.Zuckerman's face. \"Homer Zuckerman, what in the worldare you talking about?\" she said.

\"This is a very serious thing, Edith,\" he replied. \"Our pigis completely out of the ordinary.\"

\"What's unusual about the pig?\" asked Mrs. Zuckerman,who was beginning to recover from her scare.

\"Well, I don't really know yet,\" said Mr. Zuckerman. \"Butwe have received a sign, Edith - a mysterious sign. Amiracle has happened on this farm. There is a large spider'sweb in the doorway of the barn cellar, right over thepigpen, and when Lurvy went to feed the pig this morning,he noticed the web because it was foggy, and you knowhow a spider's web looks very distinct in a fog. And rightspang in the middle of the web there were the words 'Some

Pig.\" The words were woven right into the web. They wereactual part of the web, Edith. I know, because I have beendown there and seen them. It says, 'Some Pig,' just as clearas clear can be. There can be no mistake about it. A miraclehas happened and a sign has occurred here on earth, righton our farm, and we have no ordinary pig.\"

\"Well,\" said Mrs. Zuckerman, \"it seems to me you're alittle off. It seems to me we have no ordinary spider.\"

\"Oh, no,\" said Zuckerman. \"It's the pig that's un usual. Itsays so, right there in the middle of the web.\"

\"Maybe so,\" said Mrs. Zuckerman. \"Just the same, Iintend to have a look at that spider.\"

\"It's just a common grey spider,\" said Zuckerman.

They got up, and together they walked down to Wilbur'syard.

\"You see, Edith? It's just a common grey spider.\"

Wilbur was pleased to receive so much attention. Lurvywas still standing there, and Mr. and Mrs. Zuckerman allthree, stood for about an hour, reading the words on the

web over and over, and watching Wilbur.

Charlotte was delighted with the way her trick wasworking.

She sat without moving a muscle, and listened to theconversation of the people. When a small fly blundered intothe web, just beyond the word pig,\" Charlotte droppedquickly down, rolled the fly up, and carried it out of theway.

After a while the fog lifted. The web dried off and thewords didn't show up so plainly. The Zuckermans andLurvy walked back to the house. Just before they left thepigpen, Mr. Zuckerman took one last look at Wilbur.

\"You know,\" he said, in an important voice, \"I've thoughtall along that that pig of ours was an extra good one. He's asolid pig. That pig is as solid as they come. You notice howsolid he is around the shoulders, Lurvy?\"

\"Sure. Sure I do,\" said Lurvy. \"I've always noticed thatpig. He's quite a pig.\"

\"He's long, and he's smooth,\" said Zuckerman.

\"That's right,\" agreed Lurvy. \"He's as smooth as theycome.

He's some pig.\"

When Mr. Zuckerman got back to the house, he took offhis work clothes and put on his best suit. Then he got intohis car and drove to the minister's house. He stayed for anhour and explained to the minister that a miracle hadhappened on the farm.

\"So far,\" said Zuckerman, \"only four people on earthknow about this miracle - myself, my wife Edith, my hiredman Lurvy, and you.\"

\"Don't tell anybody else,\" said the minister. \"We don'tknow what it means yet, but perhaps if I give thought to it,I can explain it in my sermon next Sunday. There can be nodoubt that you have a most unusual pig. I intend to speakabout it in my sermon and point out the fact that thiscommunity has been visited with a wondrous animal. Bythe way, does the pig have a name?\"

\"Why, yes,\" said Mr. Zuckerman. \"My little niece callshim Wilbur. She's a rather queer child - full of notions. Sheraised the pig on a bottle and I bought him from her whenhe was a month old.\"

He shook hands with the minister, and left.

Secrets are hard to keep. Long before Sunday came, thenews spread all over the county. Everybody knew that asign had appeared in a spider's web on the Zuckermanplace. Everybody knew that the Zuckermans had awondrous pig. People came from miles around to look atWilbur and to read the words on Charlotte's web. TheZuckermans' driveway was full of cars and trucks frommorning till night - Fords and Chevvies and Buickroadmasters and GMC pickups and Plymouths andStudebakers and Packards and De Sotos with gyromatictransmissions and Oldsmobiles with rocket engines andJeep station wagons and Pontiacs. The news of thewonderful pig spread clear up into the hills, and farmerscame rattling down in buggies and buckboards, to stand

hour after hour at Wilbur's pen admiring the miraculousanimal. All said they had never seen such a pig before intheir lives.

When Fern told her mother that Avery had tried to hitthe Zuckermans' spider with a stick, Mrs. Arable was soshocked that she sent Avery to bed without any supper, aspunishment.

In the days that followed, Mr. Zuckerman was so busyentertaining visitors that he neglected his farm work. Hewore his good clothes all the time now -got right into themwhen he got up in the morning. Mrs. Zuckerman preparedspecial meals for Wilbur. Lurvy shaved and got a haircut;and his principal farm duty was to feed the pig whilepeople looked on.

Mr. Zuckerman ordered Lurvy to increase Wilbur'sfeedings from three meals a day to four meals a day. TheZuckermans were so busy with visitors they forgot aboutother things on the farm.

The blackberries got ripe, and Mrs. Zuckerman failed toput up any blackberry jam. The corn needed hoeing, andLurvy didn't find time to hoe it.

On Sunday the church was full. The minister explainedthe miracle. He said that the words on the spider's webproved that human beings must always be on the watch forthe coming of wonders.

All in all, the Zuckermans' pigpen was the center ofattraction. Fern was happy, for she felt that Charlotte's trickwas working and that Wilbur's life would be saved. But shefound that the barn was not nearly as pleasant - too manypeople. She liked it better when she could be all alone withher friends the animals.

CHAPTER 12 A Meeting

One evening, a few days after the writing had appearedin Charlotte's web, the spider called a meeting of all theanimals in the barn cellar.

\"I shall begin by calling the roll. Wilbur?\"\"Here!\" said the pig.\"Gander?\"

\"Here, here, here!\" said the gander.

\"You sound like three ganders,\" muttered Charlotte.

\"Why can't you just say 'here'? Why do you have to repeateverything?\"

\"It's my idio-idio-idiosyncrasy,\" replied the gander.\"Goose?\" said Charlotte.

\"Here, here, here!\" said the goose. Charlotte glared at her.\"Goslings, one through seven?\"\"Bee-bee-bee!\"\"Bee-bee-bee!\"\"Bee-bee-bee!\"\"Bee-bee-bee!\"\"Bee-bee-bee!\"\"Bee-bee-bee!\"

\"Bee-bee-bee!\" said the goslings.

\"This is getting to be quite a meeting,\" said Charlotte.

\"Anybody would think we had three ganders, threegeese, and twenty-one goslings. Sheep?\"

\"He-aa-aa!\" answered the sheep all together. \"Lambs?\"

\"He-aa-aa!\" answered the lambs all together. \"Templeton?\" No answer. \"Templeton?\" No answer.

\"Well, we are all here except the rat,\" said Charlotte. \"Iguess we can proceed without him. Now, all of you musthave noticed what's been going on around here the last fewdays. The message I wrote in my web, praising Wilbur, hasbeen received. The Zuckermans have fallen for it, and sohas everybody else.

Zuckerman thinks Wilbur is an unusual pig, andtherefore he won't want to kill him and eat him. I dare saymy trick will work and Wilbur's life can be saved.

\"Hurray!\" cried everybody.

\"Thank you very much,\" said Charlotte. \"Now I calledthis meeting in order to get suggestions. I need new ideasfor the web. People are already getting sick of reading thewords 'Some Pig!\" If anybody can think of another message,or remark, I'll be glad to weave it into the web. Anysuggestions for a new slogan?\"

\"How about 'Pig Supreme'?\" asked one of the lambs. \"No good,\" said Charlotte. \"It sounds like a rich dessert.\" \"How about 'Terrific, terrific, terrific'?\" asked the goose.\"Cut that down to one 'terrific' and it will do verynicely,\" said Charlotte. \"I think 'terrific' might impressZuckerman.\"

\"But Charlotte,\" said Wilbur, \"I'm not terrific.\"

\"That doesn't make a particle of difference,\" repliedCharlotte. \"Not a particle. People believe almost anythingthey see in print. Does anybody here know how to spell'terrific'?\"

\"I think,\" said the gander, \"it's tee double ee double rrdouble rr double eye double ff double eye double see see seesee see.\"

\"What kind of an acrobat do you think I am?\" saidCharlotte in disgust. \"I would have to have St. Vitus'sDance to weave a word like that into my web.\"

\"Sorry, sorry, sorry,\" said the gander.

Then the oldest sheep spoke up. \"I agree that thereshould be something new written in the web if Wilbur's lifeis to be saved. And if Charlotte needs help in findingwords, I think she can get it from our friend Templeton.The rat visits the dump regularly and has access to oldmagazines. He can tear out bits of advertisements and bringthem up here to the barn cellar, so that Charlotte can havesomething to copy.\"

\"Good idea,\" said Charlotte. \"But I'm not sure Templetonwill be willing to help. You know how he is - alwayslooking out for himself, never thinking of the other fellow.\"

\"I bet I can get him to help,\" said the old sheep. \"I'llappeal to his baser instincts, of which he has plenty. Herehe comes now. Everybody keep quiet while I put the matterup to him!\"

The rat entered the barn the way he always did -creeping along close to the wall.

\"What's up? \" he asked, seeing the animals assembled.

\"We're holding a directors' meeting,\" replied the oldsheep.

\"Well, break it up! \" said Templeton. \"Meetings bore me.\"

And the rat began to climb a rope that hung against thewall.

\"Look,\" said the old sheep, \"next time you go to thedump, Templeton, bring back a clipping from a magazine.Charlotte needs new ideas so she can write messages in herweb and save Wilbur's life.\"

\"Let him die,\" said the rat. \"I should worry.\"

\"You'll worry all right when next winter comes,\" said thesheep. \"You'll worry all right on a zero morning nextJanuary when Wilbur is dead and nobody comes down herewith a nice pail of warm slops to pour into the trough.Wilbur's leftover food is your chief source of supply,Templeton. You know that. Wilbur's food is your food;therefore Wilbur's destiny and your destiny are closelylinked. If Wilbur is killed and his trough stands empty dayafter day, you'll grow so thin we can look right throughyour stomach and see objects on the other side.\"

Templeton's whiskers quivered.

\"Maybe you're right,\" he said gruffly. \"I'm making a tripto the dump tomorrow afternoon. I'll bring back a magazineclipping if I can find one.\"

\"Thanks,\" said Charlotte. \"The meeting is now adjourned.I have a busy evening ahead of me. I've got to tear my webapart and write 'Terrific.\"\"

Wilbur blushed. \"But I'm not terrific, Charlotte. I'm justabout average for a pig.\"

\"You're terrific as far as I'm concerned,\" replied Charlotte,sweetly, \"and that's what counts. You're my best friend, andI think you're sensational. Now stop arguing and go getsome sleep!

CHAPTER 13 Good Progress

Far into the night, while the other creatures slept,Charlotte worked on her web. First she ripped out a few ofthe orb lines near the center. She left the radial lines alone,as they were needed for support. As she worked, her eightlegs were a great help to her. So were her teeth. She lovedto weave and she was an expert at it. When she wasfinished ripping things out, her web looked something likethis:

Note: Similar to a wagon wheel with spokes

A spider can produce several kinds of thread. She uses adry, tough thread for foundation lines, and she uses a sticky

thread for snare lines - the ones that catch and hold insects.

Charlotte decided to use her dry thread for writing thenew message.

\"If I write the word 'Terrific' with sticky thread,\" shethought, \"every bug that comes along will get stuck in itand spoil the effect.\"

\"Now let's see, the first letter is T.\"

Charlotte climbed to a point at the top of the left handside of the web. Swinging her spinnerets into position, sheattached her thread and then dropped down. As shedropped, her spinning tubes went into action and she letout thread. At the bottom, she attached the thread. Thisformed the upright part of the letter T. Charlotte was notsatisfied, however. She climbed up and made anotherattachment, right next to the first. Then she carried the linedown, so that she had a double line instead of a single line.\"It will show up better if I make the whole thing withdouble lines.\"

She climbed back up, moved over about an inch to theleft, touched her spinnerets to the web, and then carried aline across to the right, forming the top of the T. Sherepeated this, making it double. Her eight legs were verybusy helping.

\"Now for the E! \" Charlotte got so interested in her work,she began to talk to herself, as though to cheer herself on. Ifyou had been sitting quietly in the barn cellar that evening,you would have heard something like this:

\"Now for the R! Up we go! Attach! Descend! Pay out line!

Whoa! Attach! Good! Up you go! Repeat! Attach!Descend! Pay out line. Whoa, girl! Steady now! Attach!Climb! Attach! Over to the right! Pay out line! Attach! Nowright and down and swing that loop and around andaround! Now in to the left! Attach! Climb!

Repeat! O.K.! Easy, keep those lines together! Now, then,out and down for the leg of the R! Pay out line! Whoa!Attach! Ascend!

Repeat! Good girl!\"

And so, talking to herself, the spider worked at herdifficult task. When it was completed, she felt hungry. Sheate a small bug that she had been saving. Then she slept.

Next morning, Wilbur arose and stood beneath the web.He breathed the morning air into his lungs. Drops of dew,catching the sun, made the web stand out clearly. WhenLurvy arrived with breakfast, there was the handsome pig,and over him, woven neatly in block letters, was the wordTERRIFIC. Another miracle.

Lurvy rushed and called Mr. Zuckerman. Mr. Zuckermanrushed and called Mrs. Zuckerman. Mrs. Zuckerman ran tothe phone and called the Arables. The Arables climbed intotheir truck and hurried over. Everybody stood at the pigpenand stared at the web and read the word, over and over,while Wilbur, who really felt terrific, stood quietly swellingout his chest and swinging his snout from side to side.

\"Terrific!\" breathed Zuckerman, in joyful admiration.\"Edith, you better phone the reporter on the WeeklyChronicle and tell him what has happened. He will want toknow about this.

He may want to bring a photographer. There isn't a pigin the whole state that is as terrific as our pig.\"

The news spread. People who had journeyed to seeWilbur when he was \"some pig\" came back again to seehim now that he was \"terrific.\"

That afternoon, when Mr. Zuckerman went to milk thecows and clean out the tie-ups, he was still thinking aboutwhat a wondrous pig he owned.

\"Lurvy! \" he called. \"There is to be no more cow manurethrown down into that pigpen. I have a terrific pig. I wantthat pig to have clean, bright straw every day for hisbedding. Understand?\"

\"Yes, sir,\" said Lurvy.

\"Furthermore,\" said Mr. Zuckerman, \"I want you to startbuilding a crate for Wilbur. I have decided to take the pig tothe County Fair on September sixth. Make the crate largeand paint it green with gold letters!\"

\"What will the letters say?\" asked Lurvy. \"They should say Zuckerman's Famous Pig.\"

Lurvy picked up a pitchfork and walked away to getsome clean straw. Having such an important pig was goingto mean plenty of extra work, he could see that.

Below the apple orchard, at the end of a path, was thedump where Mr. Zuckerman threw all sorts of trash andstuff that nobody wanted any more. Here, in a smallclearing hidden by young alders and wild raspberry bushes,was an astonishing pile of old bottles and empty tin cansand dirty rags and bits of metal and broken bottles andbroken hinges and broken springs and dead batteries andlast month's magazines and old discarded dishmops andtattered overalls and rusty spikes and leaky pails andforgotten stoppers and useless junk of all kinds, including awrong-size crank for a broken ice-cream freezer.

Templeton knew the dump and liked it. There were goodhiding places there - excellent cover for a rat. And therewas usually a tin can with food still clinging to the inside.

Templeton was down there now, rummaging around.When he returned to the barn, he carried in his mouth anadvertisement he had torn from a crumpled magazine.

\"How's this?\" he asked, showing the ad to Charlotte. \"Itsays 'Crunchy.\" 'Crunchy' would be a good word to write inyour web.\"

\"Just the wrong idea,\" replied Charlotte. \"Couldn't beworse. We don't want Zuckerman to think Wilbur iscrunchy. He might start thinking about crisp, crunchybacon and tasty ham. That would put ideas into his head.We must advertise Wilbur's noble qualities, not histastiness. Go get another word, please, Templeton!\"

The rat looked disgusted. But he sneaked away to thedump and was back in a while with a strip of cotton cloth.\"How's this?\" he asked. \"It's a label off an old shirt.\"

Charlotte examined the label. It said PRESHRUNK.

\"I'm sorry, Templeton,\" she said, \"but 'Pre-shrunk' is outof the question. We want Zuckerman to think Wilbur isnicely filled out, not all shrunk up. I'll have to ask you to

try again.\"

\"What do you think I am, a messenger boy?\" grumbledthe rat.

\"I'm not going to spend all my time chasing down to thedump after advertising material.\"

\"Just once more - please!\" said Charlotte.

\"I'll tell you what I'll do,\" said Templeton. \"I know wherethere's a package of soap flakes in the woodshed. It haswriting on it. I'll bring you a piece of the package.\"

He climbed the rope that hung on the wall anddisappeared through a hole in the ceiling. When he cameback he had a strip of blue-and-white cardboard in histeeth.

\"There!\" he said, triumphantly. \"How's that?\"

Charlotte read the words: \"With New Radiant Action.\"

\"What does it mean?\" asked Charlotte, who had neverused any soap flakes in her life.

\"How should I know?\" said Templeton. \"You asked forwords and I brought them. I suppose the next thing you'llwant me to fetch is a dictionary.\"

Together they studied the soap ad. \"'With new radiantaction,'\" repeated Charlotte, slowly. \"Wilbur!\" she called.

Wilbur, who was asleep in the straw, jumped up. \"Runaround!\" commanded Charlotte. \"I want to see you inaction, to see if you are radiant.\" Wilbur raced to the end ofhis yard.

\"Now back again, faster!\" said Charlotte.

Wilbur galloped back. His skin shone. His tail had a fine,tight curl in it.

\"Jump into the air!\" cried Charlotte. Wilbur jumped as high as he could.

\"Keep your knees straight and touch the ground withyour ears!\" called Charlotte.

Wilbur obeyed.

\"Do a back flip with a half twist in it!\" cried Charlotte.

Wilbur went over backwards, writhing and twisting ashe went.

\"O.K., Wilbur,\" said Charlotte. \"You can go back to sleep.O.K., Templeton, the soap ad will do, I guess. I'm not sureWilbur's action is exactly radiant, but it's interesting.\"

\"Actually,\" said Wilbur, \"I feel radiant.\"

\"Do you?\" said Charlotte, looking at him with affection.\"Well, you're a good little pig, and radiant you shall be. I'min this thing pretty deep now - I might as well go the limit.\"

Tired from his romp, Wilbur lay down in the clean straw.He closed his eyes. The straw seemed scratchy - not ascomfortable as the cow manure, which was alwaysdelightfully soft to lie in. So he pushed the straw to one sideand stretched out in the manure. Wilbur sighed. It had beena busy day - his first day of being terrific. Dozens of peoplehad visited his yard during the afternoon, and he had hadto stand and pose, looking as terrific as he could. Now hewas tired. Fern had arrived and seated herself quietly on

her stool in the corner.

\"Tell me a story, Charlotte!\" said Wilbur, as he laywaiting for sleep to come. \"Tell me a story!\"

So Charlotte, although she, too, was tired, did whatWilbur wanted.

\"Once upon a time,\" she began, \"I had a beautiful cousinwho managed to build her web across a small stream. Oneday a tiny fish leaped into the air and got tangled in theweb. My cousin was very much surprised, of course. Thefish was thrashing wildly. My cousin hardly dared tackle it.But she did. She swooped down and threw great masses ofwrapping material around the fish and fought bravely tocapture it.\"

\"Did she succeed?\" asked Wilbur.

\"It was a never-to-be-forgotten battle,\" said Charlotte.\"There was the fish, caught only by one fin, and its tailwildly thrashing and shining in the sun. There was theweb, sagging dangerously under the weight of the fish.\"

\"How much did the fish weigh?\" asked Wilbur eagerly.

\"I don't know,\" said Charlotte. \"There was my cousin,slipping in, dodging out, beaten mercilessly over the headby the wildly thrashing fish, dancing in, dancing out,throwing her threads and fighting hard. First she threw aleft around the tail. The fish lashed back. Then a left to thetail and a right to the mid section. The fish lashed back.Then she dodged to one side and threw a right, and anotherright to the fin. Then a hard left to the head, while the webswayed and stretched.\"

\"Then what happened?\" asked Wilbur.

\"Nothing,\" said Charlotte. \"The fish lost the fight. Mycousin wrapped it up so tight it couldn't budge.\"

\"Then what happened?\" asked Wilbur.

\"Nothing,\" said Charlotte. \"My cousin kept the fish for awhile, and then, when she got good and ready, she ate it.\"

\"Tell me another story!\" begged Wilbur.

So Charlotte told him about another cousin of hers whowas an aeronaut.

\"What is an aeronaut?\" asked Wilbur.

\"A balloonist,\" said Charlotte. \"My cousin used to standon her head and let out enough thread to form a balloon.Then she'd let go and be lifted into the air and carriedupward on the warm wind.\"

\"Is that true?\" asked Wilbur. \"Or are you just making itup?\"

\"It's true,\" replied Charlotte. \"I have some veryremarkable cousins. And now, Wilbur, it's time you went tosleep.\"

\"Sing something!\" begged Wilbur, closing his eyes.

So Charlotte sang a lullaby, while crickets chirped in thegrass and the barn grew dark. This was the song she sang.

\"Sleep, sleep, my love, my only,

Deep, deep, in the dung and the dark; Be not afraid and be not lonely!

This is the hour when frogs and thrushes

Praise the world from the woods and the rushes. Rest from care, my one and only, Deep in the dung and the dark!\"

But Wilbur was already asleep. When the song ended,Fern got up and went home.

CHAPTER 14 Dr. Dorian

The next day was Saturday. Fern stood at the kitchensink drying the breakfast dishes as her mother washedthem. Mrs. Arable worked silently. She hoped Fern wouldgo out and play with other children, instead of heading forthe Zuckermans' barn to sit and watch animals.

\"Charlotte is the best storyteller I ever heard,\" said Fern,poking her dish towel into a cereal bowl.

\"Fern,\" said her mother sternly, \"you must not inventthings. You know spiders don't tell stories. Spiders can'ttalk.\"

\"Charlotte can,\" replied Fern. \"She doesn't talk very loud,but she talks.\"

\"What kind of story did she tell?\" asked Mrs. Arable.

\"Well,\" began Fern, \"she told us about a cousin of herswho caught a fish in her web. Don't you think that'sfascinating?\"

\"Fern, dear, how would a fish get in a spider's web?\" saidMrs. Arable. \"You know it couldn't happen. You're makingthis up.\"

\"Oh, it happened all right,\" replied Fern. \"Charlotte neverfibs. This cousin of hers built a web across a stream. Oneday she was hanging around on the web and a tiny fishleaped into the air and got tangled in the web. The fish wascaught by one fin, Mother; its tail was wildly thrashing andshining in the sun. Can't you just see the web, saggingdangerously under the weight of the fish? Charlotte'scousin kept slipping in, dodging out, and she was beatenmercilessly over the head by the wildly thrashing fish,dancing in, dancing out, throwing ...\"

\"Fern!\" snapped her mother. \"Stop it! Stop inventing thesewild tales!\"

\"I'm not inventing,\" said Fern. \"I'm just telling you thefacts.\"

\"What finally happened?\" asked her mother, whosecuriosity began to get the better of her.

\"Charlotte's cousin won. She wrapped the fish up, thenshe ate him when she got good and ready. Spiders have toeat, the same as the rest of us.\"

\"Yes, I suppose they do,\" said Mrs. Arable, vaguely.

\"Charlotte has another cousin who is a balloonist. Shestands on her head, lets out a lot of line, and is carried alofton the wind. Mother, wouldn't you simply love to do that?\"

\"Yes, I would, come to think of it,\" replied Mrs. Arable.\"But Fern, darling, I wish you would play outdoors todayinstead of going to Uncle Homer's barn. Find some of yourplaymates and do something nice outdoors. You're spendingtoo much time in that barn - it isn't good for you to bealone so much.\"

\"Alone?\" said Fern. \"Alone? My best friends are in thebarn cellar. It is a very sociable place. Not at all lonely.\"

Fern disappeared after a while, walking down the roadtoward Zuckermans'. Her mother dusted the sitting room.As she worked she kept thinking about Fern. It didn't seemnatural for a little girl to be so interested in animals. FinallyMrs. Arable made up her mind she would pay a call on oldDoctor Dorian and ask his advice. She got in the car anddrove to his office in the village.

Dr. Dorian had a thick beard. He was glad to see Mrs.Arable and gave her a comfortable chair.

\"It's about Fern,\" she explained. \"Fern spends entirely toomuch time in the Zuckermans' barn. It doesn't seem normal.She sits on a milk stool in a corner of the barn cellar, nearthe pigpen, and watches animals, hour after hour. She justsits and listens.\"

Dr. Dorian leaned back and closed his eyes.

\"How enchanting!\" he said. \"It must be real nice andquiet down there. Homer has some sheep, hasn't he?\"

\"Yes,\" said Mrs. Arable. \"But it all started with that pigwe let Fern raise on a bottle. She calls him Wilbur. Homerbought the pig, and ever since it left our place Fern hasbeen going to her uncle's to be near it.\"

\"I've been hearing things about that pig,\" said Dr. Dorian,opening his eyes. \"They say he's quite a pig.\"

\"Have you heard about the words that appeared in thespider's web?\" asked Mrs. Arable nervously.

\"Yes,\" replied the doctor.

\"Well, do you understand it?\" asked Mrs. Arable. \"Understand what?\"

\"Do you understand how there could be any writing in aspider's web?\"

\"Oh, no,\" said Dr. Dorian. \"I don't understand it. But forthat matter I don't understand how a spider learned to spina web in the first place. When the words appeared,everyone said they were a miracle. But nobody pointed outthat the web itself is a miracle.\"

\"What's miraculous about a spider's web?\" said Mrs.Arable. \"I don't see why you say a web is a miracle - it'sjust a web.\"

\"Ever try to spin one?\" asked Dr. Dorian.

Mrs. Arable shifted uneasily in her chair. \"No,\" shereplied. \"But I can crochet a doily and I can knit a sock.\"

\"Sure,\" said the doctor. \"But somebody taught you, didn'tthey?\"

\"My mother taught me.\"

\"Well, who taught a spider? A young spider knows howto spin a web without any instructions from anybody.Don't you regard that as a miracle?\"

\"I suppose so,\" said Mrs. Arable. \"I never looked at it thatway before. Still, I don't understand how those words gotinto the web. I don't understand it, and I don't like what Ican't understand.\"

\"None of us do,\" said Dr. Dorian, sighing. \"I'm a doctor.Doctors are supposed to understand everything. But I don'tunderstand everything, and I don't intend to let it worry

me.\"

Mrs. Arable fidgeted. \"Fern says the animals talk to eachother. Dr. Dorian, do you believe animals talk?\"

\"I never heard one say anything,\" he replied. \"But thatproves nothing. It is quite possible that an animal hasspoken civilly to me and that I didn't catch the remarkbecause I wasn't paying attention. Children pay betterattention than grownups. If Fern says that the animals inZuckerman's barn talk, I'm quite ready to believe her.Perhaps if people talked less, animals would talk more.People are incessant talkers - I can give you my word onthat.\"

\"Well, I feel better about Fern,\" said Mrs. Arable.\"You don't think I need worry about her?\"\"Does she look well?\" asked the doctor.\"Oh, yes.\"\"Appetite good?\"

\"Oh, yes, she's always hungry.\"\"Sleep well at night?\"\"Oh, yes.\"

\"Then don't worry,\" said the doctor.

\"Do you think she'll ever start thinking about something

besides pigs and sheep and geese and spiders?\"

\"How old is Fern?\" \"She's eight.\"

\"Well,\" said Dr. Dorian, \"I think she will always loveanimals. But I doubt that she spends her entire life inHomer Zuckerman's barn cellar. How about boys - does sheknow any boys?\"

\"She knows Henry Fussy,\" said Mrs. Arable brightly.

Dr. Dorian closed his eyes again and went into deepthought.

\"Henry Fussy,\" he mumbled. \"Hmm. Remarkable. Well, Idon't think you have anything to worry about. Let Fernassociate with her friends in the barn if she wants to. I

would say, offhand, that spiders and pigs were fully asinteresting as Henry Fussy. Yet I predict that the day willcome when even Henry will drop some chance remark thatcatches Fern's attention. It's amazing how children changefrom year to year. How's Avery?\" he asked, opening hiseyes wide.

\"Oh, Avery,\" chuckled Mrs. Arable. \"Avery is alwaysfine. Of course, he gets into poison ivy and gets stung bywasps and bees and brings frogs and snakes home andbreaks everything he lays his hands on. He's fine.\"

\"Good!\" said the doctor.

Mrs. Arable said goodbye and thanked Dr. Dorian verymuch for his advice. She felt greatly relieved.

CHAPTER 15 The Crickets

The crickets sang in the grasses. They sang the song ofsummer's ending, a sad, monotonous song. \"Summer is overand gone,\" they sang. \"Over and gone, over and gone.Summer is dying, dying.\"

The crickets felt it was their duty to warn everybody thatsummertime cannot last forever. Even on the most beautifuldays in the whole year - the days when summer ischanging into fall the crickets spread the rumor of sadnessand change.

Everybody heard the song of the crickets. Avery andFern Arable heard it as the walked the dusty road. Theyknew that school would soon begin again. The young geeseheard it and knew that they would never be little goslingsagain. Charlotte heard it and knew that she hadn't muchtime left. Mrs. Zuckerman, at work in the kitchen, heard thecrickets, and a sadness came over her, too. \"Anothersummer gone,\" she sighed. Lurvy, at work building a cratefor Wilbur, heard the song and knew it was time to digpotatoes.

\"Summer is over and gone,\" repeated the crickets. \"Howmany nights till frost?\" sang the crickets. \"Good-bye,summer, good-bye, good-bye!\"

The sheep heard the crickets, and they felt so uneasythey broke a hole in the pasture fence and wandered upinto the field across the road. The gander discovered thehole and led his family through, and they walked to theorchard and ate the apples that were lying on the ground. Alittle maple tree in the swamp heard the cricket song andturned bright red with anxiety.

Wilbur was now the center of attraction on the farm.Good food and regular hours were showing results: Wilburwas a pig any man would be proud of. One day more thana hundred people came to stand at his yard and admire him.Charlotte had written the word RADIANT, and Wilburreally looked radiant as he stood in the golden sunlight.Ever since the spider had befriended him, he had done hisbest to live up to his reputation. When Charlotte's web saidSOME PIG, Wilbur had tried hard to look like some pig.When Charlotte's web said TERRIFIC, Wilbur had tried tolook terrific. And now that the web said RADIANT, he dideverything possible to make himself glow.

It is not easy to look radiant, but Wilbur threw himselfinto it with a will. He would turn his head slightly andblink his long eye-lashes. Then he would breathe deeply.And when his audience grew bored, he would spring intothe air and do a back flip with a half twist. At this thecrowd would yell and cheer. \"How's that for a pig? \" Mr.Zuckerman would ask, well pleased with himself. \"That pigis radiant.\"

Some of Wilbur's friends in the barn worried for fear allthis attention would go to his head and make him stuck up.But it never did. Wilbur was modest; fame did not spoilhim. He still worried some about the future, as he couldhardly believe that a mere spider would be able to save hislife. Sometimes at night he would have a bad dream. Hewould dream that men were coming to get him with knivesand guns. But that was only a dream. In the daytime,Wilbur usually felt happy and confident. No pig ever hadtruer friends, and he realized that friendship is one of themost satisfying things in the world. Even the song of the

crickets did not make Wilbur too sad. He knew it wasalmost time for the County Fair, and he was lookingforward to the trip.

If he could distinguish himself at the Fair, and maybewin some prize money, he was sure Zuckerman would lethim live.

Charlotte had worries of her own, but she kept quietabout them. One morning Wilbur asked her about the Fair.

\"You're going with me, aren't you,, Charlotte?\" he said

\"Well, I don't know,\" replied Charlotte. \"The Fair comesat a bad time for me. I shall find it inconvenient to leavehome, even for a few days.\"

\"Why?\" asked Wilbur.

\"Oh, I just don't feel like leaving my web. Too muchgoing on around here.\"

\"Please come with me!\" begged Wilbur. \"I need you,Charlotte. I can't stand going to the Fair without you.You've just got to come.\"

\"No,\" said Charlotte, \"I believe I'd better stay home andsee if I can't get some work done.\"

\"What kind of work?\" asked Wilbur.

\"Egg laying. It's time I made an egg sac and filled it witheggs.\"

\"I didn't know you could lay eggs,\" said Wilbur inamazement.

\"Oh, sure,\" said the spider. \"I'm versatile.\"

\"What does 'versatile' mean - full of eggs?\" asked Wilbur.

\"Certainly not,\" said Charlotte. \"'Versatile' means I canturn with ease from one thing to another. It means I don'thave to limit my activities to spinning and trapping andstunts like that.\"

\"Why don't you come with me to the Fair Grounds andlay your eggs there?\" pleaded Wilbur. \"It would bewonderful fun.\"

Charlotte gave her web a twitch and moodily watched itsway.

\"I'm afraid not,\" she said. \"You don't know the first thingabout egg laying, Wilbur. I can't arrange my family dutiesto suit the management of the County Fair. When I getready to lay eggs, I have to lay eggs, Fair or no Fair.However, I don't want you to worry about it - you mightlose weight. We'll leave it this way: I'll come to the Fair if Ipossibly can.\"

\"Oh, good! \" said Wilbur. \"I knew you wouldn't forsakeme just when I need you most.\"

All that day Wilbur stayed inside, taking life easy in thestraw. Charlotte rested and ate a grasshopper. She knewthat she couldn't help Wilbur much longer. In a few daysshe would have to drop everything and build the beautifullittle sac that would hold her eggs.

CHAPTER 16 Off to the Fair

The night before the County Fair, everybody went to bedearly. Fern and Avery were in bed by eight. Avery laydreaming that the Ferris wheel had stopped and that he was

in the top car.

Fern lay dreaming that she was getting sick in theswings.

Lurvy was in bed by eight-thirty. He lay dreaming thathe was throwing baseballs at a cloth cat and winning agenuine Navajo blanket. Mr. and Mrs. Zuckerman were inbed by nine. Mrs. Zuckerman lay dreaming about a deepfreeze unit. Mr. Zuckerman lay dreaming about Wilbur. Hedreamt that Wilbur had grown until he was one hundredand sixteen feet long and ninety-two feet high and that hehad won all the prizes at the Fair and was covered withblue ribbons and even had a blue ribbon tied to the end ofhis tail.

Down in the barn cellar, the animals, too, went to sleepearly, all except Charlotte. Tomorrow would be Fair Day.Every creature planned to get up early to see Wilbur off onhis great adventure.

When morning came, everybody got up at daylight. Theday was hot. Up the road at the Arables' house, Fern lugged

a pail of hot water to her room and took a sponge bath.Then she put on her prettiest dress because she knew shewould see boys at the Fair. Mrs. Arable scrubbed the backof Avery's neck, and wet his hair, and parted it, andbrushed it down hard till it stuck to the top of his head - allbut about six hairs that stood straight up. Avery put onclean underwear, clean blue jeans, and a clean shirt. Mr.Arable dressed, ate breakfast, and then went out andpolished his truck. He had offered to drive everybody to theFair, including Wilbur.

Bright and early, Lurvy put clean straw in Wilbur's crateand lifted it into the pigpen. The crate was green. In goldletters it said:

ZUCKERMAN'S FAMOUS PIG

Charlotte had her web looking fine for the occasion.Wilbur ate his breakfast slowly. He tried to look radiantwithout getting food in his ears.

In the kitchen, Mrs. Zuckerman suddenly made anannouncement.

\"Homer,\" she said to her husband, \"I am going to givethat pig a buttermilk bath.\"

\"A what?\" said Mr. Zuckerman.

\"A buttermilk bath. My grandmother used to bathe herpig with buttermilk when it got dirty I just remembered.\"

\"Wilbur's not dirty,\" said Mr. Zuckerman proudly.

\"He's filthy behind the ears,\" said Mrs. Zuckerman.\"Every time Lurvy slops him, the food runs down aroundthe ears. Then it dries and forms a crust. He also has asmudge on one side where he lays in the manure.\"

\"He lays in clean straw,\" corrected Mr. Zuckerman. \"Well, he's dirty, and he's going to have a bath.\"

Mr. Zuckerman sat down weakly and ate a doughnut.His wife went to the woodshed. When she returned, shewore rubber boots and an old raincoat, and she carried abucket of buttermilk and a small wooden paddle.

\"Edith, you're crazy,\" mumbled Zuckerman.

But she paid no attention to him. Together they walkedto the pigpen. Mrs. Zuckerman wasted no time. She climbedin with Wilbur and went to work. Dipping her paddle inthe buttermilk, she rubbed him all over. The geese gatheredaround to see the fun, and so did the sheep and lambs. EvenTempleton poked his head out cautiously, to watch Wilburget a buttermilk bath. Charlotte got so interested, shelowered herself on a dragline so she could see better.Wilbur stood still and closed his eyes. He could feel thebuttermilk trickling down his sides. He opened his mouthand some buttermilk ran in. It was delicious. He felt radiantand happy. When Mrs. Zuckerman got through and rubbedhim dry, he was the cleanest, prettiest pig you ever saw. Hewas pure white, pink around the ears and snout, andsmooth as silk.

The Zuckermans went up to change into their bestclothes. Lurvy went to shave and put on his plaid shirt andhis purple necktie. The animals were left to themselves inthe barn.

The seven goslings paraded round and round theirmother.

\"Please, please, please take us to the Fair!\" begged agosling. Then all seven began teasing to go.

\"Please, please, please, please, please, please ...\" Theymade quite a racket.

\"Children! \" snapped the goose. \"We're staying quietly-ietly-ietly at home. Only Wilbur-ilbur-ilbur is going to theFair.\"

Just then Charlotte interrupted.

\"I shall go, too,\" she said, softly. \"I have decided to gowith Wilbur. He may need me. We can't tell what mayhappen at the Fair Grounds. Somebody's got to go alongwho knows how to write. And I think Templeton bettercome, too - I might need somebody to run errands and dogeneral work.\"

\"I'm staying right here,\" grumbled the rat. \"I haven't theslightest interest in fairs.\"

\"That's because you've never been to one,\" remarked theold sheep. \"A fair is a rat's paradise. Everybody spills foodat a fair. A rat can creep out late at night and have a feast.In the horse barn you will find oats that the trotters andpacers have spilled. In the trampled grass of the infield youwill find old discarded lunch boxes containing the foulremains of peanut butter sandwiches, hard-boiled eggs,cracker crumbs, bits of doughnuts, and particles of cheese.In the hard-packed dirt of the midway, after the glaringlights are out and the people have gone home to bed, youwill find a veritable treasure of popcorn fragments, frozencustard dribblings, candied apples abandoned by tiredchildren, sugar fluff crystals, salted almonds, popsicles,partially gnawed ice cream cones, and the wooden sticks oflollypops. Everywhere is loot for a rat - in tents, in booths,in hay lofts - why, a fair has enough disgusting leftoverfood to satisfy a whole army of rats.\" Templeton's eyeswere blazing.

\"Is this true?\" he asked. \"Is this appetizing yarn of yourstrue? I like high living, and what you say tempts me.\"

\"It is true,\" said the old sheep. \"Go to the Fair, Templeton.You will find that the conditions at a fair will surpass yourwildest dreams. Buckets with sour mash sticking to them,tin cans containing particles of tuna fish, greasy paper bagsstuffed with rotten ...\"

\"That's enough!\" cried Templeton. \"Don't tell me anymore. I'm going.\"

\"Good,\" said Charlotte, winking at the old sheep. \"Nowthen - there is no time to be lost. Wilbur will soon be putinto the crate. Templeton and I must get in the crate rightnow and hide ourselves.\"

The rat didn't waste a minute. He scampered over to thecrate, crawled between the slats, and pulled straw up overhim so he was hidden from sight.

\"All right,\" said Charlotte, \"I'm next.\" She sailed into theair, let out a dragline, and dropped gently to the ground.Then she climbed the side of the crate and hid herself inside

a knothole in the top board.

The old sheep nodded. \"What a cargo! \" she said. \"Thatsign ought to say 'Zuckerman's Famous Pig and TwoStowaways'.\"

\"Look out, the people are coming-oming-oming!\" shoutedthe gander. \"Cheese it, cheese it, cheese it!\"

The big truck with Mr. Arable at the wheel backedslowly down toward the barnyard. Lurvy and Mr.Zuckerman walked alongside. Fern and Avery werestanding in the body of the truck hanging on to thesideboards.

\"Listen to me,\" whispered the old sheep to Wilbur.\"When they open the crate and try to put you in, struggle!Don't go without a tussle. Pigs always resist when they arebeing loaded.\"

\"If I struggle I'll get dirty,\" said Wilbur.

\"Never mind that - do as I say! Struggle! If you were towalk into the crate without resisting, Zuckerman mightthink you were bewitched. He'd be scared to go to the Fair.\"

Templeton poked his head up through the straw.\"Struggle if you must,\" said he, \"but kindly remember thatI'm hiding down here in this crate and I don't want to bestepped on, or kicked in the face, or pummeled, or crushedin any way, or squashed, or buffeted about, or bruised, orlacerated, or scarred, or biffed. Just watch what you'redoing, Mr. Radiant, when they get shoving you in!\"

\"Be quiet, Templeton!\" said the sheep. \"Pull in your headthey're coming. Look radiant, Wilbur! Lay low, Charlotte!Talk it up, geese!\"

The truck backed slowly to the pigpen and stopped. Mr.Arable cut the motor, got out, walked around to the rear,and lowered the tailgate. The geese cheered. Mrs. Arablegot out of the truck. Fern and Avery jumped to the ground.Mrs. Zuckerman came walking down from the house.Everybody lined up at the fence and stood for a momentadmiring Wilbur and the beautiful green crate. Nobodyrealized that the crate already contained a rat and a spider.

\"That's some pig!\" said Mrs. Arable. \"He's terrific,\" said Lurvy.

\"He's very radiant,\" said Fern, remembering the day hewas born.

\"Well,\" said Mrs. Zuckerman, \"he's clean, anyway. Thebuttermilk certainly helped.\"

Mr. Arable studied Wilbur carefully. \"Yes, he's awonderful pig,\" he said. \"It's hard to believe that he was therunt of the litter. You'll get some extra good ham andbacon, Homer, when it comes time to kill that pig.\"

Wilbur heard these words and his heart almost stopped.\"I think I'm going to faint,\" he whispered to the old sheep,who was watching.

\"Kneel down!\" whispered the old sheep. \"Let the bloodrush to your head!\"

Wilbur sank to his knees, all radiance gone. His eyesclosed.

\"Look!\" screamed Fern. \"He's fading away!\"

\"Hey, watch me!\" yelled Avery, crawling on all fours intothe crate. \"I'm a pig! I'm a pig!\"

Avery's foot touched Templeton under the straw. \"Whata mess!\" thought the rat. \"What fantastic creatures boys are!Why did I let myself in for this?\"

The geese saw Avery in the crate and cheered.

\"Avery, you get out of that crate this instant!\"commanded his mother. \"What do you think you are?\"

\"I'm a pig!\" cried Avery, tossing handfuls of straw intothe air. \"Oink, oink, oink!\"

\"The truck is rolling away, Papa,\" said Fern.

The truck, with no one at the wheel, had started to rolldownhill. Mr. Arable dashed to the driver's seat and pulledon the emergency brake. The truck stopped. The geesecheered. Charlotte crouched and made herself as small aspossible in the knothole, so Avery wouldn't see her.

\"Come out at once!\" cried Mrs. Arable. Avery crawledout of the crate on hands and knees, making faces atWilbur. Wilbur fainted away.

\"The pig has passed out,\" said Mrs. Zuckerman. \"Throwwater on him!\"

\"Throw buttermilk!\" suggested Avery. The geese cheered.

Lurvy ran for a pail of water. Fern climbed into the penand knelt by Wilbur's side.

\"It's sunstroke,\" said Zuckerman. \"The heat is too muchfor him.\"

\"Maybe he's dead,\" said Avery.

\"Come out of that pigpen immediately!\" cried Mrs.Arable. Avery obeyed his mother and climbed into the backof the truck so he could see better. Lurvy returned withcold water and dashed it on Wilbur.

\"Throw some on me!\" cried Avery. \"I'm hot, too.\"

\"Oh, keep quiet!\" hollered Fern. \"Keep qui-ut!\" Her eyeswere brimming with tears.

Wilbur, feeling the cold water, came to. He rose slowlyto his feet, while the geese cheered.

\"He's up!\" said Mr. Arable. \"I guess there's nothing wrongwith him.\"

\"I'm hungry,\" said Avery. \"I want a candied apple.\"

\"Wilbur's all right now,\" said Fern. \"We can start. I wantto take a ride in the Ferris wheel.\"

Mr. Zuckerman and Mr. Arable and Lurvy grabbed thepig and pushed him headfirst toward the crate. Wilburbegan to struggle.

The harder the men pushed, the harder he held back.Avery jumped down and joined the men. Wilbur kickedand thrashed and grunted.

\"Nothing wrong with this pig,\" said Mr. Zuckermancheerfully, pressing his knee against Wilbur's behind. \"Alltogether, now, boys! Shove!\"

With a final heave they jammed him into the crate. Thegeese cheered. Lurvy nailed some boards across the end, soWilbur couldn't back out. Then, using all their strength, themen picked up the crate and heaved it aboard the truck.They did not know that under the straw was a rat, andinside a knothole was a big grey spider. They saw only apig.

\"Everybody in!\" called Mr. Arable. He started the motor.The ladies climbed in beside him. Mr. Zuckerman andLurvy and Fern and Avery rode in back, hanging onto thesideboards. The truck began to move ahead. The geesecheered. The children answered their cheer, and away wenteverybody to the Fair.

CHAPTER 17 Uncle

When they pulled into the Fair Grounds, they could hearmusic and see the Ferris wheel turning in the sky. Theycould smell the dust of the race track where the sprinklingcart had moistened it; and they could smell hamburgers

frying and see balloons aloft. They could hear sheepblatting in their pens. An enormous voice over theloudspeaker said: \"Attention, please!

Will the owner of a Pontiac car, license number H-2439,please move your car away from the fireworks shed!\"

\"Can I have some money?\" asked Fern. \"Can I, too?\" asked Avery.

\"I'm going to win a doll by spinning a wheel and it willstop at the right number,\" said Fern.

\"I'm going to steer a jet plane and make it bump intoanother one.\"

\"Can I have a balloon?\" asked Fern.

\"Can I have a frozen custard and a cheeseburger andsome raspberry soda pop?\" asked Avery.

\"You children be quiet till we get the pig unloaded,\" saidMrs. Arable.

\"Let's let the children go off by themselves,\" suggestedMr. Arable. \"The Fair only comes once a year.\" Mr. Arable

gave Fern two quarters and two dimes. He gave Avery fivedimes and four nickels. \"Now run along!\" he said. \"Andremember, the money has to last all day. Don't spend it allthe first few minutes. And be back here at the truck atnoontime so we can all have lunch together. And don't eata lot of stuff that's going to make you sick to yourstomachs.\"

\"And if you go in those swings,\" said Mrs. Arable, youhang on tight! You hang on very tight. Hear me?\"

\"And don't get lost! \" said Mrs. Zuckerman.\"And don't get dirty!\"

\"Don't get overheated!\" said their mother.\"Watch out for pickpockets!\" cautioned their father.\"And don't cross the race track when the horses are

coming!\"

cried Mrs. Zuckerman.

The children grabbed each other by the hand and dancedoff in the direction of the merry-go-round, toward the

wonderful music and the wonderful adventure and thewonderful excitement, into the wonderful midway wherethere would be no parents to guard them and guide them,and where they could be happy and free and do as theypleased. Mrs. Arable stood quietly and watched them go.Then she sighed. Then she blew her nose.

\"Do you really think it's all right?\" she asked.

\"Well, they've got to grow up some time,\" said Mr.Arable.

\"And a fair is a good place to start, I guess.\"

While Wilbur was being unloaded and taken out of hiscrate and into his new pigpen, crowds gathered to watch.They stared at the sign ZUCKERMAN'S FAMOUS PIG.Wilbur stared back and tried to look extra good. He waspleased with his new home. The pen was grassy, and it wasshaded from the sun by a shed roof.

Charlotte, watching her chance, scrambled out of thecrate and climbed a post to the under side of the roof.Nobody noticed her.

Templeton, not wishing to come out in broad daylight,stayed quietly under the straw at the bottom of the crate.Mr. Zuckerman poured some skim milk into Wilbur'strough, pitched clean straw into his pen, and then he andMrs. Zuckerman and the Arables; walked away toward thecattle barn to look at purebred cows and to see the sights.Mr. Zuckerman particularly wanted to look at tractors. Mrs.Zuckerman wanted to see a deep freeze. Lurvy wanderedoff by himself, hoping to meet friends and have some funon the midway.

As soon as the people were gone, Charlotte spoke toWilbur.

\"It's a good thing you can't see what I see,\" she said. \"What do you see?\" asked Wilbur.

\"There's a pig in the next pen and he's enormous. I'mafraid he's much bigger than you are.\"

\"Maybe he's older than I am, and has had more time togrow,\" suggested Wilbur. Tears began to come to his eyes.

\"I'll drop down and have a closer look,\" Charlotte said.Then she crawled along a beam till she was directly overthe next pen. She let herself down on a dragline until shehung in the air just in front of the big pig's snout.

\"May I have your name?\" she asked, politely.

The pig stared at her. \"No name,\" he said in a big, heartyvoice. \"Just call me Uncle.\"

\"Very well, Uncle,\" replied Charlotte. \"What is the date ofyour birth? Are you a spring pig?\"

\"Sure I'm a spring pig,\" replied Uncle. \"What did youthink I was, a spring chicken? Haw, haw - that's a goodone, eh, Sister.\"

\"Mildly funny,\" said Charlotte. \"I've heard funnier ones,though. Glad to have met you, and now I must be going.\"

She ascended slowly and returned to Wilbur's pen. \"Heclaims he's a spring pig,\" reported Charlotte, \"and perhapshe is. One thing is certain, he has a most unattractivepersonality. He is too familiar, too noisy, and he cracksweak jokes. Also, he's not anywhere near as clean as you

are, nor as pleasant. I took quite a dislike to him in our briefinterview. He's going to be a hard pig to beat, though,Wilbur, on account of his size and weight. But with mehelping you, it can be done.\"

\"When are you going to spin a web?\" asked Wilbur.

\"This afternoon, late, if I'm not too tired,\" said Charlotte.\"The least thing tires me these days. I don't seem to havethe energy I once had. My age, I guess.\"

Wilbur looked at his friend. She looked rather swollenand she seemed listless.

\"I'm awfully sorry to hear that you're feeling poorly,Charlotte,\" he said. \"Perhaps if you spin a web and catch acouple of flies you'll feel better.\"

\"Perhaps,\" she said, wearily. \"But I feel like the end of along day.\" Clinging upside down to the ceiling, she settleddown for a nap, leaving Wilbur very much worried.

All morning people wandered past Wilbur's pen. Dozensand dozens of strangers stopped to stare at him and toadmire his silky white coat, his curly tail, his kind and

radiant expression. Then they would move on to the nextpen where the bigger pig lay. Wilbur heard several peoplemake favorable remarks about Uncle's great size. Hecouldn't help overhearing these remarks, and he couldn'thelp worrying. \"And now, with Charlotte not feeling well...\" he thought. \"Oh, dear!\"

All morning Templeton slept quietly under the straw.The day grew fiercely hot. At noon the Zuckermans andthe Arables returned to the pigpen. Then, a few minuteslater, Fern and Avery showed up. Fern had a monkey dollin her arms and was eating Crackerjack. Avery had aballoon tied to his ear and was chewing a candied apple.The children were hot and dirty.

\"Isn't it hot?\" said Mrs. Zuckerman.

\"It's terribly hot,\" said Mrs. Arable, fanning herself withan advertisement of a deep freeze.

One by one they climbed into the truck and openedlunch boxes. The sun beat down on everything. Nobodyseemed hungry.

\"When are the judges going to decide about Wilbur?\"asked Mrs. Zuckerman.

\"Not till tomorrow,\" said Mr. Zuckerman.

Lurvy appeared, carrying an Indian blanket that he hadwon.

\"That's just what we need,\" said Avery. \"A blanket.\"

\"Of course it is,\" replied Lurvy. And he spread theblanket across the sideboards of the truck so that it was likea little tent. The children sat in the shade, under theblanket, and felt better.

After lunch, they stretched out and fell asleep. CHAPTER 18

The Cool of the Evening

In the cool of the evening, when shadows darkened theFair Grounds, Templeton crept from the crate and lookedaround. Wilbur lay asleep in the straw. Charlotte wasbuilding a web. Templeton's keen nose detected many finesmells in the air. The rat was hungry and thirsty. He

decided to go exploring. Without saying anything toanybody, he started off.

\"Bring me back a word!\" Charlotte called after him. \"Ishall be writing tonight for the last time.\"

The rat mumbled something to himself and disappearedinto the shadows. He did not like being treated like amessenger boy.

After the heat of the day, the evening came as a welcomerelief to all. The Ferris wheel was lighted now. It wentround and round in the sky and seemed twice as high as byday. There were lights on the midway, and you could hearthe crackle of the gambling machines and the music of themerry-go-round and the voice of the man in the beanobooth calling numbers. The children felt refreshed aftertheir nap. Fern met her friend Henry Fussy, and he invitedher to ride with him in the Ferris wheel. He even bought aticket for her, so it didn't cost her anything. When Mrs.Arable happened to look up into the starry sky and saw herlittle daughter sitting with Henry Fussy and going higher

and higher into the air, and saw how happy Fern looked,she just shook her head. \"My, my!\" she said. \"Henry Fussy.Think of that!\"

Templeton kept out of sight. In the tall grass behind thecattle barn he found a folded newspaper. Inside it wereleftovers from somebody's lunch: a deviled ham sandwich,a piece of Swiss cheese, part of a hard-boiled egg, and thecore of a wormy apple.

The rat crawled in and ate everything. Then he tore aword out of the paper, rolled it up, and started back toWilbur's pen.

Charlotte had her web almost finished when Templetonreturned, carrying the newspaper clipping. She had left aspace in the middle of the web. At this hour, no peoplewere around the pigpen, so the rat and the spider and thepig were by themselves.

\"I hope you brought a good one,\" Charlotte said. \"It is thelast word I shall ever write.\"

\"Here,\" said Templeton, unrolling the paper.

\"What does it say?\" asked Charlotte. \"You'll have to readit for me.\"

\"It says 'Humble,'\" replied the rat.

\"Humble?\" said Charlotte. \"'Humble' has two meanings.It means 'not proud' and it means 'near the ground.\" That'sWilbur all over. He's not proud and he's near the ground.\"

\"Well, I hope you're satisfied,\" sneered the rat. \"I'm notgoing to spend all my time fetching and carrying. I came tothis Fair to enjoy myself, not to deliver papers.\"

\"You've been very helpful,\" Charlotte said. \"Run along, ifyou want to see more of the Fair.\"

The rat grinned. \"I'm going to make a night of it,\" hesaid. \"The old sheep was right - this Fair is a rat's paradise.What eating! And what drinking! And everywhere goodhiding and good hunting. Bye, bye, my humble Wilbur!Fare thee well, Charlotte, you old schemer! This will be anight to remember in a rat's life.\"

He vanished into the shadows.

Charlotte went back to her work. It was quite dark now.In the distance, fireworks began going off - rockets,scattering fiery balls in the sky. By the time the Arables andthe Zuckermans and Lurvy returned from the grandstand,Charlotte had finished her web. The word HUMBLE waswoven neatly in the center. Nobody noticed it in thedarkness. Everyone was tired and happy.

Fern and Avery climbed into the truck and lay down.They pulled the Indian blanket over them. Lurvy gaveWilbur a forkful of fresh straw. Mr. Arable patted him.\"Time for us to go home,\" he said to the pig. \"See youtomorrow.\"

The grownups climbed slowly into the truck and Wilburheard the engine start and then heard the truck movingaway in low speed. He would have felt lonely andhomesick, had Charlotte not been with him. He never feltlonely when she was near. In the distance he could stillhear the music of the merry-go-round.

As he was dropping off to sleep he spoke to Charlotte.

\"Sing me that song again, about the dung and the dark,\"he begged.

\"Not tonight,\" she said in a low voice. \"I'm too tired.\" Her voice didn't seem to come from her web.

\"Where are you?\" asked Wilbur. \"I can't see you. Are youon your web?\"

\"I'm back here,\" she answered. \"Up in this back corner.\"

\"Why aren't you on your web?\" asked Wilbur. \"Youalmost never leave your web.\"

\"I've left it tonight,\" she said.

Wilbur closed his eyes. \"Charlotte,\" he said, after a while,\"do you really think Zuckerman will let me live and not killme when the cold weather comes? Do you really think so?\"

\"Of course,\" said Charlotte. \"You are a famous pig andyou are a good pig. Tomorrow you will probably win aprize. The whole world will hear about you. Zuckermanwill be proud and happy to own such a pig. You have

nothing to fear, Wilbur nothing to worry about. Maybeyou'll live forever - who knows?

And now, go to sleep.\"

For a while there was no sound. Then Wilbur's voice: \"What are you doing up there, Charlotte?\"

\"Oh, making something,\" she said. \"Making something,as usual.\"

\"Is it something for me?\" asked Wilbur.

\"No,\" said Charlotte. \"It's something for me, for achange.\"

\"Please tell me what it is,\" begged Wilbur.

\"I'll tell you in the morning,\" she said. \"When the firstlight comes into the sky and the sparrows stir and the cowsrattle their chains, when the rooster crows and the starsfade, when early cars whisper along the highway, you lookup here and I'll show you something. I will show you mymasterpiece.\"

Before she finished the sentence, Wilbur was asleep. Shecould tell by the sound of his breathing that he wassleeping peacefully, deep in the straw.

Miles away, at the Arables' house, the men sat aroundthe kitchen table eating a dish of canned peaches andtalking over the events of the day. Upstairs, Avery wasalready in bed and asleep. Mrs. Arable was tucking Ferninto bed.

\"Did you have a good time at the Fair?\" she asked as shekissed her daughter.

Fern nodded. \"I had the best time I have ever hadanywhere or any time in all of my whole life.\"

\"Well!\" said Mrs. Arable. \"Isn't that nice!\" CHAPTER 19 The Egg Sac

Next morning when the first light came into the sky andthe sparrows stirred in the trees, when the cows rattledtheir chains and the rooster crowed and the earlyautomobiles went whispering along the road, Wilbur awoke

and looked for Charlotte. He saw her up overhead in acorner near the back of his pen. She was very quiet. Hereight legs were spread wide. She seemed to have shrunkduring the night. Next to her, attached to the ceiling,Wilbur saw a curious object. It was a sort of sac, or cocoon.It was peach-colored and looked as though it were made ofcotton candy.

\"Are you awake, Charlotte?\" he said softly.\"Yes,\" came the answer.

\"What is that nifty little thing? Did you make it?\"\"I did indeed,\" replied Charlotte in a weak voice.\"Is it a plaything?\"

\"Plaything? I should say not. It is my egg sac, my

magnum opus.\"

\"I don't know what a magnum opus is,\" said Wilbur.\"That's Latin,\" explained Charlotte. \"It means 'greatwork.\" This egg sac is my great work - the finest thing Ihave ever made.\"

\"What's inside it?\" asked Wilbur. \"Eggs?\"

\"Five hundred and fourteen of them,\" she replied.

\"Five hundred and fourteen?\" said Wilbur. \"You'rekidding.\"

\"No, I'm not. I counted them. I got started counting so Ikept on - just to keep my mind occupied.\"

\"It's a perfectly beautiful egg sac,\" said Wilbur, feeling ashappy as though he had constructed it himself.

\"Yes, it is pretty,\" replied Charlotte, patting the sac withher two front legs. \"Anyway, I can guarantee that it isstrong.

It's made out of the toughest material I have. It is alsowaterproof. The eggs are inside and will be warm and dry.\"

\"Charlotte,\" said Wilbur dreamily, \"are you really goingto have five hundred and fourteen children?\"

\"If nothing happens, yes,\" she said. \"Of course, theywon't show up till next spring.\" Wilbur noticed thatCharlotte's voice sounded sad.

\"What makes you sound so down-hearted? I should thinkyou'd be terribly happy about this.\"

\"Oh, don't pay any attention to me,\" said Charlotte. \"Ijust don't have much pep any more. I guess I feel sadbecause I won't ever see my children.\"

\"What do you mean you won't see your children! Ofcourse you will. We'll all see them. It's going to be simplywonderful next spring in the barn cellar with five hundredand fourteen baby spiders running around all over theplace. And the geese will have a new set of goslings, andthe sheep will have their new lambs ...\"

\"Maybe,\" said Charlotte quietly. \"However, I have afeeling I'm not going to see the results of last night's efforts.I don't feel good at all. I think I'm languishing, to tell youthe truth.\"

Wilbur didn't understand the word \"languish\" and hehated to bother Charlotte by asking her to explain. But hewas so worried he felt he had to ask.

\"What does 'languishing' mean?\"

\"It means I'm slowing up, feeling my age. I'm not youngany more, Wilbur. But I don't want you to worry about me.This is your big day today. Look at my web - doesn't itshow up well with the dew on it?\"

Charlotte's web never looked more beautiful than itlooked this morning. Each strand held dozens of brightdrops of early morning dew. The light from the east struckit and made it all plain and clear. It was a perfect piece ofdesigning and building. In another hour or two, a steadystream of people would pass by, admiring it, and reading it,and looking at Wilbur, and marveling at the miracle.

As Wilbur was studying the web, a pair of whiskers anda sharp face appeared. Slowly Templeton dragged himselfacross the pen and threw himself down in a corner.

\"I'm back,\" he said in a husky voice. \"What a night!\"

The rat was swollen to twice his normal size. Hisstomach was as big around as a jelly jar.

\"What a night!\" he repeated, hoarsely. \"What feastingand carousing! A real gorge! I must have eaten the remainsof thirty lunches. Never have I seen such leavings, andeverything well-ripened and seasoned with the passage oftime and the heat of the day. Oh, it was rich, my friends,rich!\"

\"You ought to be ashamed of yourself,\" said Charlotte indisgust. \"It would serve you right if you had an acute attackof indigestion.\"

\"Don't worry about my stomach,\" snarled Templeton. \"Itcan handle anything. And by the way, I've got some badnews. As I came past that pig next door - the one that callshimself Uncle I noticed a blue tag on the front of his pen.That means he has won first prize. I guess you're licked,Wilbur. You might as well relax - nobody is going to hangany medal on you.

Furthermore, I wouldn't be surprised if Zuckermanchanges his mind about you. Wait till he gets hankering forsome fresh pork and smoked ham and crisp bacon! He'll

take the knife to you, my boy.\"

\"Be still, Templeton! \" said Charlotte. \"You're too stuffedand bloated to know what you're saying. Don't pay anyattention to him, Wilbur!\"

Wilbur tried not to think about what the rat had justsaid.

He decided to change the subject.

\"Templeton,\" said Wilbur, \"if you weren't so dopey, youwould have noticed that Charlotte has made an egg sac.She is going to become a mother. For your information,there are five hundred and fourteen eggs in that peachylittle sac.\"

\"Is this true?\" asked the rat, eyeing the sac suspiciously. \"Yes, it's true,\" sighed Charlotte.

\"Congratulations!\" murmured Templeton. \"This has beena night! \" He closed his eyes, pulled some straw overhimself, and dropped off into a deep sleep. Wilbur andCharlotte were glad to be rid of him for a while.

At nine o'clock, Mr. Arable's truck rolled into the FairGrounds and came to a stop at Wilbur's pen. Everybodyclimbed out.

\"Look! \" cried Fern. \"Look at Charlotte's web! Look whatit says!\"

The grownups and the children joined hands and stoodthere, studying the new sign.

\"'Humble,'\" said Mr. Zuckerman. \"Now isn't that just theword for Wilbur!\"

Everyone rejoiced to find that the miracle of the web hadbeen repeated. Wilbur gazed up lovingly into their faces. Helooked very humble and very grateful. Fern winked atCharlotte. Lurvy soon got busy. He poured a bucket ofwarm slops into the trough, and while Wilbur ate hisbreakfast Lurvy scratched him gently with a smooth stick.

\"Wait a minute!\" cried Avery. \"Look at this!\" He pointedto the blue tag on Uncle's pen. \"This pig has won first prizealready.\"

The Zuckermans and the Arables stared at the tag. Mrs.Zuckerman began to cry. Nobody said a word. They juststared at the tag. Then they stared at Uncle. Then theystared at the tag again. Lurvy took out an enormoushandkerchief and blew his nose very loud - so loud, in fact,that the noise was heard by stableboys over at the horsebarn.

\"Can I have some money?\" asked Fern. \"I want to go outon the midway.\"

\"You stay right where you are! \" said her mother. Tearscame to Fern's eyes.

\"What's everybody crying about?\" asked Mr. Zuckerman.\"Let's get busy! Edith, bring the buttermilk!\"

Mrs. Zuckerman wiped her eyes with her handkerchief.She went to the truck and came back with a gallon jar ofbuttermilk.

\"Bath time!\" said Zuckerman, cheerfully. He and Mrs.Zuckerman and Avery climbed into Wilbur's pen. Averyslowly poured buttermilk on Wilbur's head and back, and

as it trickled down his sides and cheeks, Mr. and Mrs.Zuckerman rubbed it into his hair and skin. Passersbystopped to watch. Pretty soon quite a crowd had gathered.Wilbur grew beautifully white and smooth. The morningsun shone through his pink ears.

\"He isn't as big as that pig next door,\" remarked onebystander, \"but he's cleaner. That's what I like.\"

\"So do I,\" said another man.

\"He's humble, too,\" said a woman, reading the sign onthe web.

Everybody who visited the pigpen had a good word tosay about Wilbur. Everyone admired the web. And ofcourse nobody noticed Charlotte.

Suddenly a voice was heard on the loud speaker.

\"Attention, please!\" it said. \"Will Mr. Homer Zuckermanbring his famous pig to the judges' booth in front of thegrandstand. A special award will be made there in twentyminutes. Everyone is invited to attend. Crate your pig,please, Mr. Zuckerman, and report to the judges' booth

promptly!\"

For a moment after this announcement, the Arables andthe Zuckermans were unable to speak or move. Then Averypicked up a handful of straw and threw it high in the airand gave a loud yell. The straw fluttered down like confettiinto Fern's hair. Mr. Zuckerman hugged Mrs. Zuckerman.Mr. Arable kissed Mrs. Arable. Avery kissed Wilbur. Lurvyshook hands with everybody.

Fern hugged her mother. Avery hugged Fern. Mrs.Arable hugged Mrs. Zuckerman.

Up overhead, in the shadows of the ceiling, Charlottecrouched unseen, her front legs encircling her egg sac. Herheart was not beating as strongly as usual and she feltweary and old, but she was sure at last that she had savedWilbur's life, and she felt peaceful and contented.

\"We have no time to lose!\" shouted Mr. Zuckerman.\"Lurvy, help with the crate!\"

\"Can I have some money?\" asked Fern.

\"You wait!\" said Mrs. Arable. \"Can't you see everybody isbusy?\"

\"Put that empty buttermilk jar into the truck!\"commanded Mr. Arable. Avery grabbed the jar and rushedto the truck.

\"Does my hair look all right?\" asked Mrs. Zuckerman.

\"Looks fine,\" snapped Mr. Zuckerman, as he and Lurvyset the crate down in front of Wilbur.

\"You didn't even look at my hair!\" said Mrs. Zuckerman.

\"You're all right, Edith,\" said Mrs. Arable. \"Just keepcalm.

Templeton, asleep in the straw, heard the commotion andawoke. He didn't know exactly what was going on, butwhen he saw the men shoving Wilbur into the crate hemade up his mind to go along. He watched his chance andwhen no one was looking he crept into the crate and buriedhimself in the straw at the bottom.

\"All ready, boys!\" cried Mr. Zuckerman. \"Let's go!\" Heand Mr. Arable and Lurvy and Avery grabbed the crate and

boosted it over the side of the pen and up into the truck.Fern jumped aboard and sat on top of the crate. She stillhad straw in her hair and looked very pretty and excited.Mr. Arable started the motor. Everyone climbed in, and offthey drove to the judge's booth in front of the grandstand.

As they passed the Ferris wheel, Fern gazed up at it andwished she were in the topmost car with Henry Fussy ather side.

CHAPTER 20

The Hour of Triumph

\"Special announcement!\" said the loud speaker in apompous voice. \"The management of the takes greatpleasure in presenting Mr. Homer L. Zuckerman and hisfamous pig. The truck bearing this extraordinary animal isnow approaching the infield. Kindly stand back and givethe truck room to proceed! In a few moments the pig will beunloaded in the special judging ring in front of thegrandstand, where a special award will be made. Will thecrowd please make way and let the truck pass. Thank you.\"

Wilbur trembled when he heard this speech. He felthappy but dizzy. The truck crept along slowly in low speed.Crowds of people surrounded it, and Mr. Arable had todrive very carefully in order not to run over anybody. Atlast he managed to reach the judges' stand. Avery jumpedout and lowered the tailgate.

\"I'm scared to death,\" whispered Mrs. Zuckerman.\"Hundreds of people are looking at us.\"

\"Cheer up,\" replied Mrs. Arable, \"this is fun.\" \"Unload your pig, please!\" said the loud speaker.

\"All together, now, boys!\" said Mr. Zuckerman. Severalmen stepped forward from the crowd to help lift the crate.Avery was the busiest helper of all.

\"Tuck your shirt in, Avery! \" cried Mrs. Zuckerman. \"Andtighten your belt. Your pants are coming, down.\"

\"Can't you see I'm busy?\" replied Avery in disgust. \"Look!\" cried Fern, pointing. \"There's Henry!\"

\"Don't shout, Fern!\" said her mother. \"And don't point!\"

\"Can't I please have some money?\" asked Fern. \"Henryinvited me to go on the Ferris wheel again, only I don'tthink he has any money left. He ran out of money.\"

Mrs. Arable opened her handbag. \"Here,\" she said. \"Hereis forty cents. Now don't get lost! And be back at ourregular meeting place by the pigpen very soon!\"

Fern raced off, ducking and dodging through the crowd,in search of Henry.

\"The Zuckerman pig is now being taken from his crate,\"boomed the voice of the loud speaker. \"Stand by for anannouncement!\"

Templeton crouched under the straw at the bottom of thecrate. \"What a lot of nonsense!\" muttered the rat. \"What alot of fuss about nothing!\"

Over in the pigpen, silent and alone, Charlotte rested.Her two front legs embraced the egg sac. Charlotte couldhear everything that was said on the loud speaker. Thewords gave her courage. This was her hour of triumph.

As Wilbur came out of the crate, the crowd clapped andcheered. Mr. Zuckerman took off his cap and bowed. Lurvypulled his big handkerchief from his pocket and wiped thesweat from the back of his neck. Avery knelt in the dirt byWilbur's side, busily stroking him and showing off. Mrs.Zuckerman and Mrs. Arable stood on the running board ofthe truck.

\"Ladeez and gentlemen,\" said the loud speaker, \"we nowpresent Mr. Homer L. Zuckerman's distinguished pig. Thefame of this unique animal has spread to the far corners ofthe earth, attracting many valuable tourists to our greatState. Many of you will recall that never-to-be-forgottenday last summer when the writing appeared mysteriouslyon the spider's web in Mr. Zuckerman's barn, calling theattention of all and sundry to the fact that this pig wascompletely out of the ordinary. This miracle has never beenfully explained, although learned men have visited theZuckerman pigpen to study and observe the phenomenon.

In the last analysis, we simply know that we are dealingwith supernatural forces here, and we should all feel proudand grateful. In the words of the spider's web, ladies andgentlemen, this is some pig.\"

Wilbur blushed. He stood perfectly still and tried to lookhis best.

\"This magnificent animal,\" continued the loud speaker, \"is truly terrific. Look at him, ladies and gentlemen! Note thesmoothness and whiteness of the coat, observe the spotlessskin, the healthy pink glow of ears and snout.\"

\"It's the buttermilk,\" whispered Mrs. Arable to Mrs.Zuckerman.

\"Note the general radiance of this animal! Thenremember the day when the word 'radiant' appeared clearlyon the web. Whence came this mysterious writing? Notfrom the spider, we can rest assured of that. Spiders arevery clever at weaving their webs, but needless to sayspiders cannot write.\"

\"Oh, they can't, can't they?\" murmured Charlotte toherself.

\"Ladeez and gentlemen,\" continued the loud speaker, \"Imust not take any more of your valuable time. On behalf ofthe governors of the Fair, I have the honor of awarding aspecial prize of twenty-five dollars to Mr. Zuckerman,together with a handsome bronze medal suitably engraved,in token of our appreciation of the part played by this pig -this radiant, this terrific, this humble pig - in attracting somany visitors to our great County Fair.\"

Wilbur had been feeling dizzier and dizzier through thislong, complimentary speech. When he heard the crowdbegin to cheer and clap again, he suddenly fainted away.His legs collapsed, his mind went blank, and he fell to theground, unconscious.

\"What's wrong?\" asked the loud speaker. \"What's goingon, Zuckerman? What's the trouble with your pig?\"

Avery was kneeling by Wilbur's head, stroking him. Mr.Zuckerman was dancing about, fanning him with his cap.

\"He's all right,\" cried Mr. Zuckerman. \"He gets thesespells. He's modest and can't stand praise.\"

\"Well, we can't give a prize to a dead pig,\" said the loudspeaker. \"It's never been done.\"

\"He isn't dead,\" hollered Zuckerman. \"He's fainted. Hegets embarrassed easily. Run for some water, Lurvy!\"

Lurvy sprang from the judges' ring and disappeared.

Templeton poked his head from the straw. He noticedthat the end of Wilbur's tail was within reach.

Templeton grinned. \"I'll tend to this,\" he chuckled. Hetook Wilbur's tail in his mouth and bit it, just as hard as hecould bite. The pain revived Wilbur. In a flash he was backon his feet.

\"Ouch!\" he screamed.

\"Hoorray!\" yelled the crowd. \"He's up! The pig's up! Goodwork, Zuckerman! That's some pig!\" Everyone wasdelighted. Mr. Zuckerman was the most pleased of all. Hesighed with relief. Nobody had seen Templeton. The rat haddone his work well.

And now one of the judges climbed into the ring withthe prizes. He handed Mr. Zuckerman two ten dollar billsand a five dollar bill. Then he tied the medal aroundWilbur's neck. Then he shook hands with Mr. Zuckermanwhile Wilbur blushed. Avery put out his hand and thejudge shook hands with him, too. The crowd cheered. Aphotographer took Wilbur's picture.

A great feeling of happiness swept over the Zuckermansand the Arables. This was the greatest moment in Mr.Zuckerman's life. It is deeply satisfying to win a prize infront of a lot of people.

As Wilbur was being shoved back into the crate, Lurvycame charging through the crowd carrying a pail of water.His eyes had a wild look. Without hesitating a second, hedashed the water at Wilbur. In his excitement he missed hisaim, and the water splashed all over Mr. Zuckerman andAvery. They got soaking wet.

\"For goodness' sake!\" bellowed Mr. Zuckerman, who wasreally drenched. \"What ails you, Lurvy? Can't you see the

pig is all right?\"

\"You asked for water,\" said Lurvy meekly.

\"I didn't ask for a shower bath,\" said Mr. Zuckerman. Thecrowd roared with laughter. Finally Mr. Zuckerman had tolaugh, too. And of course Avery was tickled to find himselfso wet, and he immediately started to act like a clown. Hepretended he was taking a shower bath; he made faces anddanced around and rubbed imaginary soap under hisarmpits. Then he dried himself with an imaginary towel.

\"Avery, stop it!\" cried his mother. \"Stop showing off!\"

But the crowd loved it. Avery heard nothing but theapplause. He liked being a clown in a ring, with everybodywatching, in front of a grandstand. When he discoveredthere was still a little water left in the bottom of the pail, heraised the pail high in the air and dumped the water onhimself and made faces. The children in the grandstandscreamed with appreciation.

At last things calmed down. Wilbur was loaded into thetruck. Avery was led from the ring by his mother and

placed on the seat of the truck to dry off. The truck, drivenby Mr. Arable, crawled slowly back to the pigpen. Avery'swet trousers made a big wet spot on the seat.

CHAPTER 21 Last Day

Charlotte and Wilbur were alone. The families had goneto look for Fern. Templeton was asleep. Wilbur lay restingafter the excitement and strain of the ceremony. His medalstill hung from his neck; by looking out of the corner of hiseye he could see it.

\"Charlotte,\" said Wilbur after a while, \"why are you soquiet?\"

\"I like to sit still,\" she said. \"I've always been ratherquiet.\"

\"Yes, but you seem specially so today. Do you feel allright?\"

\"A little tired, perhaps. But I feel peaceful. Your successin the ring this morning was, to a small degree, any success.Your future is assured. You will live, secure and safe,

Wilbur. Nothing can harm you now. These autumn dayswill shorten and grow cold. The leaves will shake loosefrom the trees and fall.

Christmas will come, then the snows of winter. You willlive to enjoy the beauty of the frozen world, for you mean agreat deal to Zuckerman and he will not harm you, ever.Winter will pass, the days will lengthen, the ice will melt inthe pasture pond. The song sparrow will return and sing,the frogs will awake, the warm wind will blow again. Allthese sights and sounds and smells will be yours to enjoy,Wilbur - this lovely world, these precious days ...\"

Charlotte stopped. A moment later a tear came toWilbur's eye. \"Oh, Charlotte,\" he said. \"To think that whenI first met you I thought you were cruel and bloodthirsty!\"

When he recovered from his emotion, he spoke again.

\"Why did you do all this for me?\" he asked. \"I don'tdeserve it. I've never done anything for you.\"

\"You have been my friend,\" replied Charlotte. That initself is a tremendous thing. I wove my webs for you

because I liked you. After all, what's a life, anyway? We'reborn, we live a little while, we die. A spider's life can't helpbeing something of a mess, with all this trapping and eatingflies. By helping you, perhaps I was trying to lift up my lifea trifle. Heaven knows anyone's life can stand a little ofthat.\"

\"Well,\" said Wilbur. \"I'm no good at making speeches. Ihaven't got your gift for words. But you have saved me,Charlotte, and I would gladly give my life for you - I reallywould.\"

\"I'm sure you would. And I thank you for your generoussentiments.\"

\"Charlotte,\" said Wilbur. \"We're all going home today.The Fair is almost over. Won't it be wonderful to be backhome in the barn cellar again with the sheep and the geese?Aren't you anxious to get home?\"

For a moment Charlotte said nothing. Then she spoke ina voice so low Wilbur could hardly hear the words.

\"I will not be going back to the barn,\" she said.

Wilbur leapt to his feet. \"Not going back?\" he cried.\"Charlotte, what are you talking about?\"

\"I'm done for,\" she replied. \"In a day or two I'll be dead.I haven't even strength enough to climb down into thecrate. I doubt if I have enough silk in my spinnerets tolower me to the ground.\"

Hearing this, Wilbur threw himself down in an agony ofpain and sorrow. Great sobs racked his body. He heavedand grunted with desolation. \"Charlotte,\" he moaned.\"Charlotte! My true friend!\"

\"Come now, let's not make a scene,\" said the spider. \"Bequiet, Wilbur. Stop thrashing about!\"

\"But I can't stand it,\" shouted Wilbur. \"I won't leave youhere alone to die. If you're going to stay here I shall stay,too.\"

\"Don't be ridiculous,\" said Charlotte. \"You can't stayhere. Zuckerman and Lurvy and John Arable and the otherswill be back any minute now, and they'll shove you into

that crate and away you'll go. Besides, it wouldn't makeany sense for you to stay. There would be no one to feedyou. The Fair Grounds will soon be empty and deserted.\"

Wilbur was in a panic. He raced round and round thepen. Suddenly he had an idea - he thought of the egg sacand the five hundred and fourteen little spiders that wouldhatch in the spring. If Charlotte herself was unable to gohome to the barn, at least he must take her children along.

Wilbur rushed to the front of his pen. He put his frontfeet up on the top board and gazed around. In the distancehe saw the Arables and the Zuckermans approaching. Heknew he would have to act quickly.

\"Where's Templeton?\" he demanded.

\"He's in that corner, under the straw, asleep,\" saidCharlotte.

Wilbur rushed over, pushed his strong snout under therat, and tossed him into the air.

\"Templeton!\" screamed Wilbur. \"Pay attention!\"

The rat, surprised out of a sound sleep, looked first dazedthen disgusted.

\"What kind of monkeyshine is this?\" he growled. \"Can't arat catch a wink of sleep without being rudely popped intothe air?\"

\"Listen to me!\" cried Wilbur. \"Charlotte is very ill. Shehas only a short time to live. She cannot accompany ushome, because of her condition. Therefore, it is absolutelynecessary that I take her egg sac with me. I can't reach it,and I can't climb. You are the only one that can get it.There's not a second to be lost. The people are coming -they'll be here in no time. Please, please, please, Templeton,climb up and get the egg sac.\"

The rat yawned. He straightened his whiskers. Then helooked up at the egg sac.

\"So!\" he said, in disgust. \"So it's old Templeton to therescue again, is it? Templeton do this, Templeton do that,Templeton please run down to the dump and get me amagazine clipping, Templeton please lend me a piece of

string so I can spin a web.\"

\"Oh, hurry! \" said Wilbur. \"Hurry up, Templeton!

But the rat was in no hurry. He began imitating Wilbur'svoice.

\"So it's 'Hurry up, Templeton,' is it? he said. \"Ho, ho. Andwhat thanks do I ever get for these services, I would like toknow? Never a kind word for old Templeton, only abuseand wisecracks and side remarks. Never a kind word for arat.\"

\"Templeton,\" said Wilbur in desperation, \"if you don'tstop talking and get busy, all will be lost, and I will die of abroken heart. Please climb up!\"

Templeton lay back in the straw. Lazily he placed hisforepaws behind his head and crossed his knees, in anattitude of complete relaxation.

\"Die of a broken heart,\" he mimicked. \"How touching!My, my! I notice that it's always me you come to when introuble. But I've never heard of anyone's heart breaking onmy account. Oh, no. Who cares anything about old

Templeton?\"

\"Get up!\" screamed Wilbur. \"Stop acting like a spoiledchild!

Templeton grinned and lay still. \"Who made trip aftertrip to the dump?\" he asked. \"Why, it was old Templeton!Who saved Charlotte's life by scaring that Arable boy awaywith a rotten goose egg? Bless my soul, I believe it was oldTempleton. Who bit your tail and got you back on your feetthis morning after you had fainted in front of the crowd?Old Templeton. Has it ever occurred to you that I'm sick ofrunning errands and doing favors? What do you think I am,anyway, a rat-of-all-work?\"

Wilbur was desperate. The people were coming. And therat was failing him. Suddenly he remembered Templeton'sfondness for food.

\"Templeton,\" he said, \"I will make you a solemn promise.Get Charlotte's egg sac for me, and from now on I will letyou eat first, when Lurvy slops me. I will let you have yourchoice of everything in the trough and I won't touch a

thing until you're through.\"

The rat sat up. \"You mean that?\" he said. \"I promise. I cross my heart.\"

\"All right, it's a deal,\" said the rat. He walked to the walland started to climb. His stomach was still swollen fromlast night's gorge. Groaning and complaining, he pulledhimself slowly to the ceiling. He crept along till he reachedthe egg sac. Charlotte moved aside for him. She was dying,but she still had strength enough to move a little. ThenTempleton bared his long ugly teeth and began snippingthe threads that fastened the sac to the ceiling. Wilburwatched from below.

\"Use extreme care!\" he said. \"I don't want a single one ofthose eggs harmed.\"

\"Thith thtuff thticks in my mouth,\" complained the rat.\"It'th worth than caramel candy.\"

But Templeton worked away at the job, and managed tocut the sac adrift and carry it to the ground, where hedropped it in front of Wilbur. Wilbur heaved a great sigh of

relief.

\"Thank you, Templeton,\" he said. \"I will never forget thisas long as I live.\"

\"Neither will I,\" said the rat, picking his teeth. \"I feel asthough I'd eaten a spool of thread. Well, home we go!\"

Templeton crept into the crate and buried himself in thestraw. He got out of sight just in time. Lurvy and JohnArable and Mr. Zuckerman came along at that moment,followed by Mrs. Arable and Mrs. Zuckerman a nd Averyand Fern. Wilbur had already decided how he would carrythe egg sac - there was only one way possible. He carefullytook the little bundle in his mouth and held it there on topof his tongue. He remembered what Charlotte had told him- that the sac was waterproof and strong. It felt funny onhis tongue and made him drool a bit. And of course hecouldn't say anything. But as he was being shoved into thecrate, he looked up at Charlotte and gave her a wink. Sheknew he was saying good-bye in the only way he could.And she knew her children were safe.

\"Good-bye!\" she whispered. Then she summoned all herstrength and waved one of her front legs at him.

She never moved again. Next day, as the Ferris wheelwas being taken apart and the race horses were beingloaded into vans and the entertainers were packing up theirbelongings and driving away in their trailers, Charlottedied. The Fair Grounds were soon deserted. The sheds andbuildings were empty and forlorn.

The infield was littered with bottles and trash. Nobody,of the hundreds of people that had visited the Fair, knewthat a grey spider had played the most important part of all.No one was with her when she died.

CHAPTER 22 A Warm Wind

And so Wilbur came home to his beloved manure pile inthe barn cellar. His was a strange homecoming. Around hisneck he wore a medal of honor; in his mouth he held a sacof spider's eggs. There is no place like home, Wilburthought, as he placed Charlotte's five hundred and fourteen

unborn children carefully in a safe corner. The barn smelledgood. His friends the sheep and the geese were glad to seehim back.

The geese gave him a noisy welcome.

\"Congratu-congratu-congratulations!\" they cried. \"Nice work.\"

Mr. Zuckerman took the medal from Wilbur's neck andhung it on a nail over the pigpen, where visitors couldexamine it. Wilbur himself could look at it whenever hewanted to.

In the days that followed, he was very happy. He grew toa great size. He no longer worried about being killed, for heknew that Mr. Zuckerman would keep him as long as helived. Wilbur often thought of Charlotte. A few strands ofher old web still hung in the doorway. Every day Wilburwould stand and look at the torn, empty web, and a lumpwould come to his throat. No one had ever had such afriend - so affectionate, so loyal, and so skillful.

The autumn days grew shorter, Lurvy brought thesquashes and pumpkins in from the garden and piled themon the barn floor, where they wouldn't get nipped on frostynights. The maples and birches turned bright colors and thewind shook them and they dropped their leaves one by oneto the ground. Under the wild apple trees in the pasture, thered little apples lay thick on the ground, and the sheepknawed them and the geese gnawed them and foxes camein the night and sniffed them. One evening, just beforeChristmas, snow began falling. It covered house and barnand fields and woods. Wilbur had never seen snow before.When morning came he went out and plowed the drifts inhis yard, for the fun of it. Fern and Avery arrived, dragginga sled. They coasted down the lane and out onto the frozenpond in the pasture.

\"Coasting is the most fun there is,\" said Avery.

\"The most fun there is,\" retorted Fern, \"is when the Ferriswheel stops and Henry and I are in the top car and Henrymakes the car swing and we can see everything for miles

and miles and miles.\"

\"Goodness, are you still thinking about that ol' Ferriswheel?\" said Avery in disgust. \"The Fair was weeks andweeks ago.\"

\"I think about it all the time,\" said Fern, picking snowfrom her ear.

After Christmas the thermometer dropped to ten belowzero.

Cold settled on the world. The pasture was bleak andfrozen. The cows stayed in the barn all the time now,except on sunny mornings when they went out and stoodin the barnyard in the lee of the straw pile. The sheepstayed near the barn, too, for protection. When they werethirsty they ate snow. The geese hung around the barnyardthe way boys hang around a drug store, and Mr.Zuckerman fed them corn and turnips to keep themcheerful.

\"Many, many, many thanks!\" they always said, whenthey saw food coming.

Templeton moved indoors when winter came. His rattyhome under the pig trough was too chilly, so he fixedhimself a cozy nest in the barn behind the grain bins. Helined it with bits of dirty newspapers and rags andwhenever he found a trinket or a keepsake he carried ithome and stored it there. He continued to visit Wilbur threetimes a day, exactly at mealtime, and Wilbur kept thepromise he had made. Wilbur let the rat eat first.

Then, when Templeton couldn't hold another mouthful,Wilbur would eat. As a result of overeating, Templetongrew bigger and fatter than any rat you ever saw. He wasgigantic. He was as big as a young woodchuck.

The old sheep spoke to him about his size one day. \"Youwould live longer,\" said the old sheep, \"if you ate less.\"

\"Who wants to live forever? sneered the rat. \"I amnaturally a heavy eater and I get untold satisfaction fromthe pleasures of the feast.\" He patted his stomach, grinnedat the sheep, and crept upstairs to lie down.

All winter Wilbur watched over Charlotte's egg sac asthough he were guarding his own children. He had scoopedout a special place in the manure for the sac, next to theboard fence. On very cold nights he lay so that his breathwould warm it. For Wilbur, nothing in life was soimportant as this small round object - nothing elsemattered. Patiently he awaited the end of winter and thecoming of the little spiders. Life is always a rich and steadytime when you are waiting for something to happen or tohatch. The winter ended at last.

\"I heard the frogs today,\" said the old sheep one evening. \"Listen! You can hear them now.\"

Wilbur stood still and cocked his cars. From the pond, inshrill chorus, came the voices of hundreds of little frogs.

\"Springtime,\" said the old sheep, thoughtfully. \"Anotherspring.\" As she walked away, Wilbur saw a new lambfollowing her.

It was only a few hours old.

The snows melted and ran away. The streams andditches bubbled and chattered with rushing water. Asparrow with a streaky breast arrived and sang. The lightstrengthened, the mornings came sooner. Almost everymorning there was another new lamb in the sheepfold. Thegoose was sitting on nine eggs. The sky seemed wider anda warm wind blew. The last remaining strands ofCharlotte's old web floated away and vanished.

One fine sunny morning, after breakfast, Wilbur stoodwatching his precious sac. He wasn't thinking of anythingmuch. As he stood there, he noticed something move. Hestepped closer and stared. A tiny spider crawled from thesac. It was no bigger than a grain of sand, no bigger thanthe head of a pin.

Its body was grey with a black stripe underneath. Its legswere grey and tan. It looked just like Charlotte.

Wilbur trembled all over when he saw it. The little spiderwaved at him. Then Wilbur looked more closely. Two morelittle spiders crawled out and waved. They climbed round

and round on the sac, exploring their new world. Thenthree more little spiders. Then eight. Then ten. Charlotte'schildren were here at last.

Wilbur's heart pounded. He began to squeal. Then heraced in circles, kicking manure into the air. Then he turneda back flip. Then he planted his front feet and came to astop in front of Charlotte's children.

\"Hello, there!\" he said.

The first spider said hello, but its voice was so smallWilbur couldn't hear it.

\"I am an old friend of your mother's,\" said Wilbur. \"I'mglad to see you. Are you all right? Is everything all right?\"

The little spiders waved their forelegs at him. Wilburcould see by the way they acted that they were glad to seehim.

\"Is there anything I can get you? Is there anything youneed?\"

The young spiders just waved. For several days andseveral nights they crawled here and there, up and down,

around and about, waving at Wilbur, trailing tiny draglinesbehind them, and exploring their home. There were dozensand dozens of them. Wilbur couldn't count them, but heknew that he had a great many new friends. They grewquite rapidly. Soon each was as big as a BB shot. Theymade tiny webs near the sac.

Then came a quiet morning when Mr. Zuckermanopened a door on the north side. A warm draft of rising airblew softly through the barn cellar. The air smelled of thedamp earth, of the spruce woods, of the sweet springtime.The baby spiders felt the warm updraft. One spider climbedto the top of the fence. Then it did something that came as agreat surprise to Wilbur. The spider stood on its head,pointed its spinnerets in the air, and let loose a cloud of finesilk. The silk formed a balloon. As Wilbur watched, thespider let go of the fence and rose into the air.

\"Good-bye!\" it said, as it sailed through the doorway.

\"Wait a minute! \" screamed Wilbur. \"Where do you thinkyou're going?\"

But the spider was already out of sight. Then anotherbaby spider crawled to the top of the fence, stood on itshead, made a balloon, and sailed away. Then anotherspider. Then another. The air was soon filled with tinyballoons, each balloon carrying a spider.

Wilbur was frantic. Charlotte's babies were disappearingat a great rate.

\"Come back, children!\" he cried.

\"Good-bye!\" they called. \"Good-bye, good-bye!\" At lastone little spider took time enough to stop and talk to Wilburbefore making its balloon.

\"We're leaving here on the warm updraft. This is ourmoment for setting forth. We are aeronauts and we aregoing out into the world to make webs for ourselves.\"

\"But where?\" asked Wilbur.

\"Wherever the wind takes us. High, low. Near, far. East,west. North, south. We take to the breeze, we go as weplease.\"

\"Are all of you going?\" asked Wilbur. \"You can't all go. Iwould be left alone, with no friends. Your mother wouldn'twant that to happen, I'm sure.\"

The air was now so full of balloonists that the barn cellarlooked almost as though a mist had gathered. Balloons bythe dozen were rising, circling, and drifting away throughthe door, sailing off on the gentle wind. Cries of \"Good-bye,good-bye, good-bye!\" came weakly to Wilbur's ears. Hecouldn't bear to watch any more. In sorrow he sank to theground and closed his eyes. This seemed like the end of theworld, to be deserted by Charlotte's children. Wilbur criedhimself to sleep.

When he woke it was late afternoon. He looked at theegg sac. It was empty. He looked into the air. Theballoonists were gone. Then he walked drearily to thedoorway, where Charlotte's web used to be. He wasstanding there, thinking of her, when he heard a smallvoice.

\"Salutations!\" it said. \"I'm up here.\" \"So am I,\" said another tiny voice.

\"So am I,\" said a third voice. \"Three of us are staying. Welike this place, and we like you.\"

Wilbur looked up. At the top of the doorway three smallwebs were being constructed. On each web, working busilywas one of Charlotte's daughters.

\"Can I take this to mean,\" asked Wilbur, \"that you havedefinitely decided to live here in the barn cellar, and that Iam going to have three friends?\"

\"You can indeed,\" said the spiders.

\"What are your names, please?\" asked Wilbur, tremblingwith joy.

\"I'll tell you my name,\" replied the first little spider, \"ifyou'll tell me why you are trembling.\"

\"I'm trembling with joy,\" said Wilbur.

\"Then my name is Joy,\" said the first spider.

\"What was my mother's middle initial?\" asked the secondspider.

\"A,\" said Wilbur.

\"Then my name is Aranea,\" said the spider.

\"How about me?\" asked the third spider. \"Will you justpick out a nice sensible name for me - something not toolong, not too fancy, and not too dumb?\"

Wilbur thought hard. \"Nellie?\" he suggested.

\"Fine, I like that very much,\" said the third spider. \"Youmay call me Nellie.\" She daintily fastened her orb line tothe next spoke of the web.

Wilbur's' heart brimmed with happiness. He felt that heshould make a short speech on this very importantoccasion.

\"Joy! Aranea! Nellie!\" he began. \"Welcome to the barncellar. You have, chosen a hallowed doorway from which tostring your webs. I think it is only fair to tell you that I was

devoted to your mother. I owe my very life to her. She wasbrilliant, beautiful, and loyal to the end. I shall alwaystreasure her memory. To you, her daughters, I pledge myfriendship, forever and ever.\"

\"I pledge mine,\" said Joy. \"I do, too,\" said Aranea.

\"And so do I, said Nellie, who had just managed to catcha small gnat.

It was a happy day for Wilbur. And many more happy,tranquil days followed.

As time went on, and the months and years came, andwent, he was never without friends. Fern did not comeregularly to the barn any more. She was growing up, andwas careful to avoid childish things, like sitting on a milkstool near a pigpen. But Charlotte's children andgrandchildren and great grandchildren, year after year,lived in the doorway. Each spring there were new littlespiders hatching out to take the place of the old. Most ofthem sailed away, on their balloons. But always two or

three stayed and set up housekeeping in the doorway.

Mr. Zuckerman took fine care of Wilbur all the rest of hisdays, and the pig was often i ted by friends and admirers,for nobody ever forgot the year of his triumph and themiracle of the web. Life in the barn was very good - nightand day, winter and summer, spring and fall, dull days andbright days. It was the best place to be, thought Wilbur, thiswarm delicious cellar, with the garrulous geese, thechanging seasons, the heat of the sun, the passage ofswallows, the nearness of rats, the sameness of sheep, thelove of spiders, the smell of manure, and the glory ofeverything.

Wilbur never forgot Charlotte. Although he loved herchildren and grandchildren dearly, none of the new spidersever quite took her place in his heart. She was in a class byherself. It is not often that someone comes along who is atrue friend and a good writer. Charlotte was both. THE END