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Key words£ºArachne,
Minerva, spin, spider |
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Genre£ºMyth |
Topic£ºArachne |
Words:
900 |
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ESL, English,
Story, Tale, Legend, Folktale, Myth,
Fable, Learning, Teaching |
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Arachne, never having seen the goddess,
thought she owed everything to herself alone,
and began to boast of her skill. |
How Arachne became the
spider
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Author£ºUnknown |
Source£ºwww.kukutown.com
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Nation£ºRoman |
Date£º2008-9-22 |
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(Arachne was
transformed into a spider by Minerva )
Arachne lived in a small village on the shores of the
Mediterranean. Her parents were very poor. While her mother was
busy cooking the simple meals for the family, or working in the
fields, Arachne used to spin all day long. Her wheel made a
steady whirring like the buzzing of some insect. She grew so
skillful from constant practice, that the threads she drew out
were almost as fine as the mists that rose from the sea near
by.
One day Arachne¡¯s father, who was
a fisherman, came home with his baskets full of little
shell-fish, which were of a bright crimson or purple color. He
thought the color of the little shellfish so pretty that he
tried the experiment of dyeing Arachne¡¯s wools with them. The
result was the most vivid color that had ever been seen in any
kind of woven fabric. After this, Arachne¡¯s tapestries always
showed some touch of the new color. They now found a ready sale,
and, in fact, soon became famous.
Arachne¡¯s family moved to a much
larger house. Her mother did not have to work in the fields any
more, nor was her father any longer obliged to go out in his
boat to catch fish. Arachne heard admiring words on every side,
and her head was a little turned by them. When, as often
happened, people praised the beautiful color that had been
produced by the shell-fish, she did not tell how her father had
helped her, taking all the credit to herself. While she was
weaving, a group of people often stood behind her loom, watching
the pictures grow.
One day she overheard someone say
that even the great goddess, Minerva, the patron goddess of
spinning, could not weave more beautiful tapestries than this
fisherman¡¯s daughter. This was a very foolish thing to say, but
Arachne thought it was true. She heard another say that Arachne
wove so beautifully that she must have been taught by Minerva
herself.
Now, the truth is that Minerva
had taught Arachne. It was Minerva who had sent the little
shell-fish to those coasts; and, although she never allowed
herself to be seen, she often stood behind the girl and guided
her shuttle. But Arachne, never having seen the goddess, thought
she owed everything to herself alone, and began to boast of her
skill.
One day she said, ¡°It has been
said that I can weave quite as well as the goddess, Minerva, if
not better. I should like to have a weaving match with her, and
then it would be seen which could do best.¡±
These wicked words had hardly
left Arachne¡¯s mouth, before she heard the sound of a crutch on
the floor. Turning to look behind her, she saw a feeble old
woman in a rusty gray cloak. The woman¡¯s eyes were as gray as
her cloak, and strangely bright and clear for one so old.
She leaned heavily on her crutch,
and when she spoke, her voice was cracked and weak. ¡°I am many
years older than you,¡± she said. ¡°Take my advice. Ask Minerva¡¯s
pardon for your ungrateful words. If you are truly sorry, she
will forgive you.¡±
Now Arachne had never been very
respectful to old persons, particularly when they wore rusty
cloaks, and she was very angry at being reproved by this one.
¡°Don¡¯t advise me,¡± she said. ¡°Go and advise your own children. I
shall say and do what I please.¡±
At this an angry light came into
the old woman¡¯s gray eyes; her crutch suddenly changed to a
shining lance; she dropped her cloak; and there stood the
goddess herself. Arachne¡¯s face grew very red, and then very
white, but she would not ask Minerva¡¯s pardon, even then.
Instead, she said that she was ready for the weaving match. So
two weaving frames were brought in, and attached to one of the
beams overhead. Then Minerva and foolish Arachne stood side by
side and each began to weave a piece of tapestry.
As Minerva wove, her tapestry
began to show pictures of mortals who had been foolhardy and
boastful, like Arachne, and who had been punished by the gods.
It was meant for a kindly warning to Arachne. But Arachne would
not heed the warning. She wove into her tapestry pictures
representing certain foolish things that the gods of Olympus had
done.
This was very disrespectful, and
it is no wonder that when Arachne¡¯s tapestry was finished,
Minerva tore it to pieces. Arachne was frightened now, but it
was too late. Minerva suddenly struck her on the forehead with
her shuttle. Then Arachne shrank to a little creature no larger
than one¡¯s thumb.
¡°Since you think yourself so very
skillful in spinning and weaving,¡± said Minerva, ¡°you shall do
nothing else but spin and weave all your life.¡± Upon this,
Arachne, in her new shape, ran quickly into the first dark
corner she could find. She was now obliged to earn her living by
spinning webs of exceeding fineness, in which she caught many
flies, just as her father had caught fish in his nets. She was
called the Spinner.
The children of this first little
spinner have become very numerous; but their old name of spinner
has been changed to that of spider. Their delicate webs often
cover the grass on a morning when the day is to be fine.
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