The spider’s lesson

Press, 2 September 1980, Page 18

The spider’s lesson

Today we have a story for you about the Shetland Islands. If you have a world map, see if you can find this quite large group of islands tyell to; the north of Scotland,.; and far removed from land pri all: sides.- •<■«, '' ... X-'" On sunny days the islands may look like a . fairyland, but the wild and raging seas whipped up by winter storms can create a , frightening picture. . One of the main.-occupa-tions' of the islanders is fishing. Another is sheepraising. Shetland wool is well known for its fine quality. This legend is about the cottage? industry of spinning and weaving which used to be done at home by the women and > older children to eke out family incomes. Most, of the men were fishermen, a sometimes - dangerous occupation. There were many widows in the island communities' of long ago,, - ; ’ > :Grete, the little girl in the story, knew the sea in all its moods. The- .qneroomed stone cottage she shared ynth her. mother stood on the'sand, not far from the water.}’ Crete’s only Q experience of outdoors was what she saw from the single window in the . cottage; She could-not "run .and. play outside as other children did because she could not walk. Her back had been injured when she. was very young. • ; Grete would sit at the window with her spinning wheel. Her widowed mother was poor,, but tshe

owned a few farm animals — a cow, and a few pigs and sheep. Sometimes bn’’’-, stormy nights a calf, or a young pig or lamb would share their fireside if it--Was too young to survive the outside cold. Usually Crete’s fingers were busy spinning the J wool from their sheep, but one day when the sea roared; and the spray , struck against the small window, she lay down on her bed. Her legs ached - badly, and she was fright- , ened of. the sea’s angry ' ■ mood. v;XTrom . the bed Grete noticed a spider beginning to make a web in one cor- . ner. of .the, window. .Her eyes followed the pattern ' .of the'. threads he was spinning. After making a kind of wheel with a lot of spokes all joining in ; thiS middle, the spider began to work round and round the silken frame. : ; As Grete watched, the .spider seemed to ; move faster, the web grew larger covering more of the window. Its colour, became lighter. The spider seemed to change till it was no. -longer. a spider, .. and in its place stood a , queer elfish, ‘little man with a face like a dried-up apple. ■ f;'i The little man nodded and 'said, “Watch me, Grete, -and you -will learn how to knit.” - . Grete marvelled "'at; the snowy .whiteness fof 'the spider’s web that kept on growing. She looked more closely and understood the A reason. The little man was ' making gossamer patterns • with the ‘ : finest white wool. Her fingers began to move in time with the

fairy weaver. She was(j 5 learning his secret. Suddenly. the doop opened. Grete’s came in and the little maife disappeared. The spider® was back at the window,? but. it- had given up spin-;J ning. Glittering . ~.little> beads of spray were hang-;? ing from the web-and* h$ could not go on with it. . i When Grete went to bed* that night she; about the wonderful pat-3 tern she had learned sol strangely. She could hard-S ly. wait for morning’ t 64 come so she could try tpj make it herself. ~ -' ’/ In the weeks that’fol-4 lowed Grete . tried to spinj . the fine white wool; of hew ‘ dreams. Sometimes as hef\S wheel whirred round shefl fancied she heard the little J man saying, “Try again;-’ Grete. Try.again.” , SsS Grete persevered until! at, last ..she made - a -wooM so fine and even in tex-3 ture that the little man no# longer urged her to tryj harder. To knit the she had only to look at*i the'spider’s web in a cor-4 ner of the window. ■ 4 - When her work'was fin-?; ished, the . , neighbours?. ? came crowding into the‘ little stonehouse to see the wonderful - shawl that; looked , like, lace. They; wanted to learn how tb make such Xa .' i beautiful;} shawl,' and Grete; was delighted to teach, them. This is’the: legend},: behind - the' filmy lace-like shawls Lforwhich . theShe 11 a n.d er s became, famous, and the they were made without} ■ rules -or patterns which* could be copied by people) in ■other' parts • of the* ; world,:. . ' ; ’ ‘ f