July 28, 2014 - The Widow and the Spider

Once upon a time, a poor old widow lived in a very wealthy village.  Nearly everyone in town was extremely wealthy except for widows like herself, cleaning maids, farm hands, and other laborers.  She and people like herself were made to work very hard for very little pay.  They lived very poorly, barely subsisting, while the wealthy merchants and elite in town were weighted down with gold, jewels, and fine silk clothing.  And the more money the wealthy people made, the less they wanted to pay their workers.  Complaining and pleading for more pay did no good, and there was nowhere else for the poor people to work so they had no choice.

One day the poor old widow had finished crocheting a beautiful shawl for a wealthy woman, but when she brought it to the woman, she was paid only one-tenth of their agreed-upon price.  No amount of begging made a difference, and she eventually accepted the meager pay as she was starving.  Now it happened that a beautiful young niece of the wealthy woman saw this entire exchange and was disgusted with her aunt.  This young lady was very unusual in that she cared for the poor in her village.  She was also very clever.  When her aunt left, she called the old widow over and gave her a few gold coins.  The old woman just wept with gratitude.

“I have an idea,” the young maiden said.  “You will make me a fine head covering and I will wear it and every woman will want one just like it.  And I will pay you well for it.”  The old widow thanked her profusely but pointed out that there were dozens of old women already crocheting beautiful head coverings for pennies.  “Then you will have to come up with something different,” the maiden said.  The old widow agreed and left, but she had no idea what she would do.

Lacy spider web.

On her way home, the old woman heard a tiny voice.  “Help me!  Please!”  She looked everywhere but saw nothing.  “Down here!  Down here!”  When she looked to the ground, she saw a fat brown spider.  “Please mistress, a gust of wind blew me from my beautiful home way up high.  Could you place me back in it?”  The old widow didn’t much care for spiders, but she felt pity for this one.  She looked up and saw the finest spider web she had ever seen, and she suddenly had a very good idea.

“I will place you back in your home, but only if you show me how to weave such a beautiful web,” she said.  At first the spider refused, but when the old widow made to leave, it agreed to her terms.  Grimacing, she promptly picked the spider up and placed it back in its web.

True to its word, the spider showed her how to weave a very fine web, indeed.  “The pattern repeats itself,” the spider had said over and over.  The widow practiced it and soon had a good understanding of it.  And so with the bit of gold she’d gotten, the old widow bought some fine white silk thread and crocheted a glorious head covering for the young maiden.

The next day she brought it to the lady, who thanked her quite loudly in front of the village and paid her handsomely in gold.  “You have truly outdone yourself,” the maiden exclaimed, “so here is the other half of what I owe you!”  The old widow was confused at first, but the young maiden just winked and walked away.

No sooner had the pretty girl left when another rich woman ran up to the widow and demanded that she make a head covering for her as well in a fine green silk.  The old widow caught on quick to this game and said she was too busy.  The rich woman balked and took the old woman by the arm to the textile shop.  There she immediately bought the finest green silk and paid the old widow as much as the young maiden had given her in gold.  “And I will give you the other half when you bring me my head covering!” she said.

“See that you pay me immediately at that time,” the old widow said, “or I’ll sell it straight away to another woman!”

Two days later, the old widow brought the new green silk head covering to the rich woman and insisted that they meet in the town square.  There she demanded her payment, which the rich woman was only too happy to hand over.  Everyone exclaimed at the beauty of the head covering, and within half an hour, three more wealthy women had caught the old widow by the arm, demanding a beautiful piece from her as well.

In this way, the old widow soon became the talk of the town and quite wealthy herself.  She helped all the other poor people by lending them enough gold to get by while they held out for higher wages.  Their wealthy employers eventually gave in because no work was getting done, and soon they were all making enough money to live comfortably.

Best of all, on her way home every day, the old widow would stop and bring a big fat fly to the spider, with whom she had become quite good friends.  “You keep working at it,” the spider would say, “and some day your work will be as fine as mine and people will bring you flies as well!” 

“That would be something,” the old widow would say.