The Life of the Spider 



sion of a thread in their belly as their sole 

 inheritance, they prepare to disperse over the 

 wide world. 



Let us create a disturbance among the glob- 

 ular group by stirring it with a straw. All 

 wake up at once. The cluster softly dilates 

 and spreads, as though set in motion by some 

 centrifugal force; it becomes a transparent 

 orb wherein thousands and thousands of tiny 

 legs quiver and shake, while threads are ex- 

 tended along the way to be followed. The 

 whole work resolves itself into a delicate veil 

 which swallows up the scattered family. We 

 then see an exquisite nebula against whose 

 opalescent tapestry the tiny animals gleam like 

 twinkling orange stars. 



This straggling state, though it last for 

 hours, is but temporary. If the air grow 

 cooler, if rain threaten, the spherical group 

 reforms at once. This is a protective meas- 

 ure. On the morning after a shower, I find 

 the families on either bamboo in as good 

 condition as on the day before. The silk 

 veil and the pill formation have sheltered 

 them well enough from the downpour. 

 Even so do Sheep, when caught in a 

 storm in the pastures, gather close, huddle 

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