The Life of the Spider 



she waits for what luck will bring her: now 

 some giddy weakling unable to control its 

 flight, anon some powerful prey rushing head- 

 long with a reckless bound. 



The Locust in particular, the fiery Locust, 

 who releases the spring of his long shanks 

 at random, often falls into the trap. One 

 imagines that his strength ought to frighten 

 the Spider; the kick of his spurred levers 

 should enable him to make a hole, then and 

 there, in the web and to get away. But not 

 at aU. If he does not free himself at the 

 first effort, the Locust is lost. 



Turning her back on the game, the Epeira 

 works all her spinnerets, pierced like the rose 

 of a watering-pot, at one and the same time. 

 The silky spray is gathered by the hind-legs, 

 which are longer than the others and open 

 into a wide arc to allow the stream to spread. 

 Thanks to this artifice, the Epeira this time 

 obtains not a thread, but an iridescent sheet, 

 a sort of clouded fan wherein the component 

 threads are kept almost separate. The two 

 hind-legs fling this shroud gradually, by 

 rapid alternate armfuls, while, at the same 

 time, they turn the prey over and over, swath- 

 ing it completely. 



82 



