

The Spinner Family 
Spinners and all their relatives are 
-put together into one great class called 
Arachnida. We sometimes think of 
spiders as insects; they are not true 
insects, but Arachnids instead. We 
must look among the old Greeks myths 
to find the story which tells why spiders 
are called by such an odd name. 
Among the ancient Greeks lived a 
beautiful maiden called Arachne. She 
was not only beautiful, but very skil- 
ful in weaving and spinning. Her 
work was so wonderful, that the 
nymphs as well as mortals gathered 
around her to watch the growth of the 
marvellous fabrics in her loom. 
People began to say, “ Arachne must 
have been taught by Minerva herself, 
the goddess of spinning; in no other 
way could she have gained such 
skill.” 
When Arachne heard this she was 
indignant, and declared that no one 
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