Spiders on the Case Read Online Free PDF Page B

young. Had she ever whined — as everyone was always accusing Julep of doing?
    â€œWell, children, once upon a time so long ago, when I was but a wee thing …”
    There was nothing quite like Edith’s webtime story voice. Jo Bell could tell that Buster was instantly enchanted. His chelicerae, his spider jaws, dropped wide open. He had read and read and read his entire life, but he had never really heard a story told. Buster had never felt ashamed or sorry for being what he would describe as an “instant orphan.” In fact, Buster had thought that his biggest problem in life was not being venomous. But now he realized he was wrong. He was lonely. And he always had been lonely.
    As he perched in a corner of the somewhat messy web, enveloped by the bluish light — for brown recluse silk has a tinge of blue — he felt as if he had finally arrived in a snug harbor. A silken harbor where the threads were stirred by a soft voice.
    He knew about The Nutcracker . A score by Tchaikovsky was in the music manuscript room, and he had read the story of the ballet that began on Christmas Eve, when a little girl was given the gift of a doll — a nutcracker prince. That night she dreams that the prince enters a fierce battle with a mouse king. But never had the magic of the story seemed more real than now.
    â€œIt was in the first theater I ever visited. It was called the Palace, in the great city of Chicago. I can’t remember where we had come from, or exactly where we went after the E-Men arrived. It was all such a blur. But I do remember my dear dad and mum and your great-aunt Tessie had decided we should weave our webs in the tippy-top of the Christmas tree. It was an artificial tree, of course, and it rose out of the stage in the first act. When the ballet starts, the scene is set for a lovely party to begin at the Stahlbaum house. It is a grand house, for the Stahlbaums are very rich, and every Christmas Eve, they give a wonderful party. Clara and Fritz are their children.”
    â€œHow old are they?” Jo Bell interrupted.
    â€œOh, I would say just about your age and Felix’s age — middle grade and elementary school.” This was an influence from the time Edith had spent at the Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School in Phoenix, Arizona. It had left a lasting impression, and she often thought of her children in terms of grade levels. Felix was a solid sixth grader, Jo Bell a seventh grader, and Julep a kindergartner. Or possibly a first grader.
    â€œIsn’t there anybody my age?” Julep whined.
    â€œYou mean pre-K?” Felix snorted.
    â€œChildren, stop that. No interruptions, please. All eyes on me!”
    Buster was shaking with frustration at the interruptions.
    â€œAs I was saying, there is a party, and the children’s godfather arrives.” Edith gave a quick glance up toward Fatty, her own children’s godspider, who had settled on the top of the display case. “He brings presents for Clara and Fritz. To Clara he gives a doll — a nutcracker prince. Fritz is jealous and a fight breaks out between the children, breaking the doll. But that’s only the beginning of the story. For after the guests leave and the clock strikes midnight, strange things begin to happen. Clara starts to shrink, and the Christmas tree begins to grow and grow and grow. Oh, it was a wonderful feeling for all of us as the tree rose up, up, and up, as if on threads of silk. I can just see my mother and Aunt Tessie, their twelve eyes sparkling. It was as if we were at the very heart of a miracle. We could look out from our web and see the audience gasping in wonder. Children wiggling in their seats suddenly grew still, their eyes round with disbelief!”
    â€œToo bad little human kids have just two eyes,” Julep moaned softly. “There’s so much to see!”
    By this time, twenty-six spider eyes were round with disbelief. Edith’s silken