72 The Life of the Spider 



she shields the precious eggs with her poor body- 

 spread out flat. Eating is neglected. No more 

 lying in wait, no more Bees drained to the last 

 drop of blood. Motionless, rapt in meditation, 

 the Spider is in an incubating posture, in other 

 words, she is sitting on her eggs. Strictly 

 speaking, the word ' incubating ' means that 

 and nothing else. 



The brooding Hen is no more assiduous, but 

 she is also a heating-apparatus and, with the 

 gentle warmth of her body, awakens the germs 

 to life. For the Spider, the heat of the sun 

 suffices ; and this alone keeps me from saying 

 that she 'broods.' 



For two or three weeks, more and more 

 wrinkled by abstinence, the little Spider never 

 relaxes her position. Then comes the hatching. 

 The youngsters stretch a few threads in swing- 

 like curves from twig to twig. The tiny rope- 

 dancers practise for some days in the sun ; then 

 they disperse, each intent upon his own affairs. 



Let us now look at the watch-tower of the 

 nest. The mother is still there, but this time 

 lifeless. The devoted creature has known the 

 delight of seeing her family born ; she has 



