The Garden Spiders: My Neighbour 



The thing is obvious: the Spider did on 

 that rent what she did every elsewhere, 

 neither more nor less. Far from squandering 

 silk upon it, she saved her silk so as to have 

 enough for the whole web. The gap will be 

 better mended, little by little, afterwards, as 

 the sheet is strengthened all over with new 

 layers. And this will take long. Two months 

 later, the window my work still shows 

 through and makes a dark stain against the 

 dead-white of the fabric. 



Neither weavers nor spinners, therefore, 

 know how to repair their work. Those 

 wonderful manufacturers of silk-stuffs lack 

 the least glimmer of that sacred lamp, reason, 

 which enables the stupidest of darning-women 

 to mend the heel of an old stocking. The 

 office of inspector of Spiders' webs would 

 have its uses, even if it merely succeeded in 

 ridding us of a mistaken and mischievous 

 idea. 



271 



