Guess who's coming to dinner?"

  The silken strands of the web glistened in the morning 

sunlight. The dew filled in sections of the web with a 

silver pane of moisture as artfully crafted as if inserted                           

with a glazier's deft touch.

 

In the upper periphery of the web, a small body wriggled 

at the sticky bonds that held it imprisoned. The 

vibrations from that struggle shook the web like an 

alarm bell. The master of the web knew that he had a 

visitor that would stay for dinner, his in fact.

 

Slowly the furred, multi legged creature climbed the 

narrow silken walk way. It was in no hurry. Dinner would 

wait until it arrived. Along the way, a mend here and a 

darn there strengthened the web. It was his custom to 

explore its breadth daily, looking for food and needed 

repairs.

 

Like scavengers on a beach, each day brought something 

different to his table. One day, the cuisine was air borne, 

another of the crawling variety. All who came here 

remained to dine with him. It wasn't cruel or malicious.

It was just the way that nature had designed things.

 

Now, the creature could see the struggling victim. The 

small, winged being was pulling mightily against its 

bonds. It saw its fate approaching and the struggle 

intensified. The spider waited patiently. Dinner would 

soon grow tired and relent. It always did. And there 

were no other pressing appointments jangling the web at 

present.

 

The captured avian at last drew free one of its legs, 

then another. It was winning the battle. The spider, 

belatedly realizing the imminent escape of its dinner, 

sprang into action. It scurried along the silken ladder 

licked-split. He who tarried went hungry. Just as it 

neared the imprisoned avian, the small body broke free 

and flapped its small wings into flight. The spider was 

quick, but it could not fly and the avian just barely 

escaped its already salivating jaws. It would live 

another day.

 

The spider was philosophical. It was not the first 

dinner that had managed to elude him. There would always 

be others. And many of these were either too tired or 

too timid to break free of their bonds. These would 

become dinner. He would enjoy them more because of the 

loss of this one. And, after all, he had nothing else to 

do but wait for his guests to arrive. He could be 

patient. Dinner always arrived sooner or later.

 

                                          -30-

 

                                  (417 words)

 

                            Joseph Xavier Martin