第47章 (第3/3页)
XIV. Dr. Dorian
The next day was Saturday. Fern stood at the kitchen sink drying the breakfast dishes as her mother washed them. Mrs. Arable worked silently. She hoped Fern would go out and play with other children, instead of heading for the Zuckermans' barn to sit and watch animals.
"Charlotte is the best storyteller I ever heard," said Fern, poking her dish towel into a cereal bowl.
"Fern," said her mother sternly, "you must not invent things. You know spiders don't tell stories. Spiders can't talk."
"Charlotte can," replied Fern. "She doesn't talk very loud, but she talks."
"What kind of story did she tell?" asked Mrs. Arable.
"Well," began Fern, "she told us about a cousin of hers who caught a fish in her web. Don't you think that's fascinating?"
"Fern, dear, how would a fish get in a spider's web?" said Mrs. Arable. "You know it couldn't happen. You're making this up."
"Oh, it happened all right," replied Fern. "Charlotte never fibs. This cousin of hers built a web across a stream. One day she was hanging around on the web and a tiny fish leaped into the air and got tangled in the web. The fish was caught by one fin, Mother; its tail was wildly thrashing and shining in the sun. Can't you just see the web, sagging dangerously under the weight of the fish?