Felix Takes the Stage Read Online Free PDF Page B

all spiders. It is said that venom runs in their blood.”
    â€œDid he bite them on purpose or accidentally?” Felix asked.
    â€œI don’t know,” Edith said softly. “I simply do not know.”
    â€œIs this story really true, Mom?” Julep asked.
    â€œI don’t know,” she said again. “But even if it isn’t true, it’s so lovely to think about. So peaceful. So … so … settled.”

A nd it was said that my four-times-squared great-grandmother, Old Number Sixteen as we called her, occupied the cabin of John Carver, the first governor of the Plymouth Colony, and — listen to this, dear — was present at the signing of the Mayflower Compact!”
    â€œOh, Oliphant! I never tire of this story.”
    â€œWell, guess what? We do!” Jo Bell muttered.
    It was their second night in the store. The good news was that the owner had not yet shown up, so Edith felt sure that Kontiki Antikies was a hobby business for someone. The bad news was that Oliphant Uxbridge loved droning on about his family day and night.

    â€œI wish he’d shut up already. If I have to hear one more story about his stupid Mayflower ancestors, I’m going to —” Felix groaned.
    â€œChildren, it’s time for sleep,” Edith said. But it was hopeless. Despite the fact that they were at the back of the shop and nowhere near the Uxbridges’ web, Oliphant’s voice carried.
    â€œHow can we, Mom, with him droning on?” Jo Bell sighed.
    â€œGet used to it!” called a voice. It was coming from a neighboring ship, a lovely model of the famous clipper Cutty Sark .
    â€œWho’s that?” Edith called cautiously. She knew there were other spiders about, but no one had spoken to them except the Uxbridges. Their privacy had been respected, or perhaps their presence was dreaded. Still, Edith had been happy to be left alone.
    â€œDoris,” came the reply.
    â€œWhat are you?”
    â€œBlack widow.”
    Edith felt a small twinge of relief. At least it was not another orb weaver, and Doris was toxic, too.
    â€œI know what you’re thinking!” Doris said in a somewhat unpleasant voice.
    â€œHow could you possibly know what I am thinking?” Edith asked.
    â€œI wasn’t hatched yesterday, dearie. I’ve been around your kind.”
    Edith did not like her tone at all. Your kind! How rude!
    Doris continued, “Believe me, you are just as toxic as I am.”
    â€œThen you should understand!”
    â€œHa!” The rigging vibrated with the harsh laugh.
    â€œMom,” Felix implored. “Why don’t you tell her off? Why didn’t you say, ‘Hey, Miss Smarty Legs, at least we don’t murder our mates and eat them!’”
    â€œLet her be, Felix. Just let her be.”
    Edith decided that silence was the best strategy with her new neighbor. She had met too many of Doris’s “kind” before. The greater population of black widows was so insecure they had to pick on someone they considered beneath them — usually their mates or a creature more toxic. Edith was always hoping to encounter a black widow pair like the couple she and her husband had met at Tchotchkes Unlimited in Brooklyn. Now, there was a couple of good souls. Albert and Rachel — the two were on their honeymoon as well, and they were determined to buck the current. Rachel point-blank refused to kill her mate. “Tough spinnerets!” she huffed. “This one’s a keeper. I’m not letting him go!”
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    When the first gray threads of dawn wove through the darkness of the store, the family was still asleep, except for Felix. The night before, he had noticed a newsstand just outside the shop. He knew the morning edition of the Los Angeles Times was delivered very early, and he planned to be on the windowsill to see if there was a story about the philharmonic hall. Like most spiders, Felix’s