“Grandfather, you let that creepy spider build her web in your kitchen?”
“Charlotte, don’t be unkind. Grandmother Spider is very important here.”
“But Grandfather, what if the spider tries to crawl on me?” The nine-year-old girl hadn’t visited Grandfather in years and didn’t remember spiders being in his house.
“She is very kind and keeps all manner of pests out of my house. Besides, she’s very old.”
“Will she die soon?”
“I hope not. She brings a very warm light into my house and into my world, just like you do. Now let’s see what we can make for dinner.”
I wrote this for the Rochelle Wisoff-Fields writing challenge for 12 January 2018 (although she put “2017” in the title). The idea is to use the image above to inspire the creation of a piece of flash fiction no more than 100 words long. My word count is 100.
The spider and vintage lighting fixtures reminded me both of an older person’s home and “house spider” myths. Supposedly, you’re not supposed to kill the house spider (though my wife has me do so on a regular basis), but a quick Google search didn’t yield any specifics. Finally, I looked up Spider Mythology and Folklore.
There are any number of legends that depict spiders in a positive light including this one:
Cherokee (Native American): A popular Cherokee tale credits Grandmother Spider with bringing light to the world. According to legend, in the early times everything was dark and no one could see at all because the sun was on the other side of the world. The animals agreed that someone must go and steal some light and bring the sun back so people could see. Possum and Buzzard both gave it a shot, but failed – and ended up with a burned tail and burned feathers, respectively. Finally, Grandmother Spider said she would try to capture the light. She made a bowl of clay, and using her eight legs, rolled it to where the sun sat, weaving a web as she traveled. Gently, she took the sun and placed it in the clay bowl, and rolled it home, following her web. She traveled from east to west, bringing light with her as she came, and brought the sun to the people.
The Hopi legends also attribute the creation of humanity to the Spider Woman and Sun god.
To read other stories based on the prompt, go to InLinkz.com.
That’s how I feel about them. Maybe it was reading Charlotte’s Web when I was little, but I always really liked spiders.
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I almost turned my story into a “Charlotte’s Web” related tale but then I remembered I’d written one for a prompt previously. Mythology is such a rich source for modern stories. Thanks.
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I share Charlotte’s concerns. I would be sleeping with one eye open!
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LOL.
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I enjoyed both the story and the mythical information too.
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Thanks, Sandra.
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Dear James,
A good story and thank you for the legend. Just the same Grandmother Spider can stay on the outside, thank you very much.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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But it’s cold out there! :O
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These are vintage lighting fixtures? This makes me very old. 🙂
Nice story, James.
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That’s what they reminded me of. I did a brief Google search but couldn’t put a date on them. Thanks.
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Perfectly legitimate. You weave the web and we get tangled.
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Speaking from memory, I’d guess about the seventies.
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Love your spinning web tale here,James. Love the old legends…
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Ha! I saw what you did. Thanks.
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This is lovely. The warm relationship between a grandfather and his grand daughter. His gentle thoughts are beautiful. You can really see and hear them. Oh and her question about death suggesting her underlying worries about old age and death… and then on with the tea.
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I too loved the legend stuff!
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Thanks, Anna.
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I think you meant to comment on my other story “Coffee and Tea,” but I certainly appreciate your complement, Anna. Thank you.
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?
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Sorry. I may have misunderstood, but it sounded like your comments were more directed at the Grandpa and granddaughter in Coffee and Tea. Of course, I’ve been wrong before.
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Good one. I love spiders, they are incredibly fascinating, and they kill flies and mosquitoes. The Cherokee folklore was really interesting.
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Glad you liked it, Aak. Thanks.
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Though I wouldn’t like a huge web with a spider in my kitchen, I love your beautiful and feel-good story and the warm grand father- granddaughter bond.
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Thanks, Moon. I’d probably have “issues” with a big spider web in the middle of my kitchen, too.
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Please James save the spiders, just pop them outside. It sounds like the Cherokee Indians had a great story telling tradition. I enjoyed your use of the ambient? light in this prompt
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I pop them outside when I can Michael, however this time of year, they wouldn’t fare very well given the cold. Thanks.
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Sweet story – and a nice little nature lesson too.
Susan A Eames at
Travel, Fiction and Photos
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Thank you, Susan.
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Grandpa, obviously, is a nice old soul. But the broom would be with what I’d go to meet a spider. Guess Charlotte might share that view point.
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I wonder if anyone has noticed that I named the granddaughter after a very famous book about a spider? Thanks.
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I thought it was obvious, James. That’s why didn’t focus on the name.
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I wasn’t sure. Maybe everybody thought it obvious. Thanks.
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I definitely picked up on the Charlotte’s Web ref, never fear! I love spiders and Granddad is right to try to teach his Granddaughter to be kind to them. They eat lots of nasties and give the house a wonderful, Gothic charm 🙂 Lovely tale, James
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Thank you, Lynn.
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My pleasure 🙂
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Great tale James. I’m with you in the not killing of spiders and I have a spouse that doesn’t mind. I do de cobweb but that rarely kills the spider. If we have guests I will sometimes relocate a spider because like Charlotte most people find it difficult to sleep with a spider in the room. Thanks for adding the Indian folk lore. I found that interesting.
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Thanks, Irene. During temperate weather when I do the yard work, I use a blower to remove the spider webs from around my house, but as you say, it doesn’t hurt the spiders. They just rebuild and very quickly, too.
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Though I love the horror tales, this was a nice switch….
Gotta say, I didn’t see that one coming…great!
Scott
Mine: https://kindredspirit23.wordpress.com/2018/01/10/welcome-to-my-parlor/
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Thanks, Scott. I must say, I do a fair amount of fiction, very specifically about vampires lately.
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I have started my fiction writing again….I miss it.
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Not sure how I could live without it now.
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Thank you for speaking and teaching about Grandmother Spider, but I won’t be staying. 🙂
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Understandable, Susie. Thanks.
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I like your take, James! And yes, Grandmother Spider should be left to her own devices. But I can see why Charlotte doesn’t extend that to crawling right on her skin. In my apartment, the rule is that the spiders can live if they stay up in the ceiling and kill bugs. (If they’re not black widows; I do kill those.) If they come down to floor level, well, my cat refuses to sign my spider-peace treaty.
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LOL. If the spiders come within range of the cat, they’re pretty much asking for it. Thanks.
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She’s horrible to them, too. Sometimes I put them out of their misery if I catch it in time.
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Loved the story, but loved the tale of the spider who carries the sun from the east to the west even more. There is something so warm and cozy about these old myths, across cultures, geographies, and religions.
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I agree. Thanks.
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Cute story. Superbly written. I could totally imagine this
Click Here to see what Mrs. Dash Says
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Thanks. I appreciate it.
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That was an interesting fact to know about Grandmother Spider
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I think so, too. Thanks.
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such a good lesson to impart to his granddaughter. hopefully, she won’t forget.
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As with all things, it might take several similar lessons for it to “stick.” Thanks.
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A lovely relationship between grandfather and granddaughter. I tend to leave spiders alone unless they look like they’re about to “attack”…
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I have a lovely relationship with my granddaughter too, though she’s a bit younger than Charlotte. Thanks.
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I enjoyed that story, James, for the way you captured the warmth between granddad and Charlotte. Passing on wisdom is what we grandparents are for!
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Thank you, Penny.
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Loved your story and the mythology. I leave spiders alone unless they begin to invade the living spaces 🙂
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Thank you. I appreciate you reading and commenting.
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We have a silly attitude to anything with more than two legs—it’s either dirty, dangerous or infectious. Live and let live is a good motto to live by.
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True, though there’s a limit to how many or how big the webs inside the house should get. Thanks, Jane.
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There aren’t many critters that eat spiders either. That could be significant…
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Hah! James, re your comment about vintage lights and older people: you know that some younger folk like the retro stuff, too 😉 Come to think of it, my husband chose the lights and he’s older than me! That spider had its web over our kitchen table for the whole of Christmas and the New Year, and earned its keep by catching and consuming some miniature flies that had hatched out of a plant that I’d brought inside from out-of-doors. I like spiders in the house, except in the bedroom at night D:
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Sorry if I made a prejudicial comment about vintage lights, Sarah. I was relating to my childhood and the changing styles I’ve experienced. I must say you show remarkable tolerance for spiders and webs. My wife would have nipped that one in the bud.
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No offence taken, James. I thought it was funny your comment about the lights 😀 Spiders do a really useful job, clearing up microspic nasties much more efficiently than any household cleaning gadget could do!
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I loved the legends
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Thank you, Balaka.
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Guess it won’t be barbecued spider for dinner then! Nice nod to Charlotte’s Web there James.
Click to read my FriFic!
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Thanks, Keith.
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This is sweet, in a creepy kind of way.
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I suppose it’s a matter of perspective, Elizabeth. Thanks.
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I love this story. Grandfather is teaching a fine lesson to Charlotte. I wish I hadn’t grown up being afraid of all manner of bugs, but to me they were just ugly. And I hated the way they skittered across a floor or wall. Ugh.
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Well, they do look very different from us, Linda. Thanks.
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I like this, the idea of bringing light in. I don’t kill spiders anymore or house centipedes. I suspect they are battling for dominion in the basement (or somewhere else–yikes!) 🙂
Good story, sweet.
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Thanks, Sascha.
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Great piece. Loved the Cherokee legend.
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Thanks. I also wrote a story about crows that invoked similar folklore.
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I like the thought of a nice spider in the home…
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Thank you, Björn. Perhaps there’s one residing in yours.
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Grandfather has a good outlook on life. I like him. Thanks for the gentle story.
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Thanks. He’s my alter ego. You can find “him” also in Haaninin’s Friend. Technically it’s not the same character, but it’s the same “personality.”
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James, this brought to mind perhaps the old man recognizing his and spiders mortality . Growing up, we were taught that if kill a spider, it will rain. Being in the Pacific Northwest. Obviously a lot of spiders must have met their doom.
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LOL. I guess you’re right. Thanks.
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Nice spin on this tale. Thanks for including the backstory.
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The backstory is half the fun, Dawn. Thanks.
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Sweet relationship between the old and the young. Loved the legend as well…
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Thanks, Dale.
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My dad taught me to never kill spiders. There are some spiders that are poisonous and I wouldn’t want in the house but most are harmless to humans. I’ve had to laugh at the jumping spider we have here. They don’t make a web but go hunting and jump on their prey. I’ve seen one jump. I’m glad I’m a human and too big for them to be interested. Good writing and researched stories, James. 🙂 — Suzanne
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Thanks, Suzanne.
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Early in our marriage, we had a spider above our bed. Connie wouldn’t let me kill it. One day her egg sack hatched and we had hundred of tiny spiders all over our bed. Connie changed her mind at that point.
Thanks for adding the Hopi legend in the epilogue. I always find those fascinating.
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Yes, exactly. The same thing happened in my grandson’s crib when he was little (fortunately he wasn’t in it at the time and I was able to clean all the critters out).
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