There is a curious spider, commonly known as the nursing spider,
which carries her sack of eggs with her wherever she goes; and when the
young ones come out, they cluster on her back, and so travel with her;
when a little older, they attach themselves to the old one by threads, and
run after her in a train."
Lady Mary laughed, and said she should like to see the funny little
spiders all tied to their mother, trotting along behind her.
"If you go into the meadow, my dear," said Mrs. Frazer, "you will see on
the larger stones some pretty shining little cases, quite round, looking
like gray satin."
"Nurse, I know what they are," said Lady Mary. "Last year I was playing in
the green meadow, and I found a piece of granite with several of these
satin cases. I called them silk pies, for they looked like tiny mince
pies. I tried to pick one off, but it stuck so hard that I could not, so I
asked the gardener to lend me his knife; and when I raised the crust it
had a little rim under the top, and I slipped the knife in, and what do
you think I saw? The pie was full of tiny black shining spiders; and they
ran out, such a number of them,--more than I could count, they ran so
fast. I was sorry I opened the crust, for it was a cold, cold day, and the
little spiders must have been frozen, out of their warm air-tight house.
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