The Spider and the Fly

When I was very little, one of my absolute favorite books was The Spider and the Fly by Mary Howitt. This book is very near and dear to my heart because my Grandfather use to read it to me every time I would visit him as a child. He would tuck my sister and I into bed and just before we closed our eyes he would read this story to us in his thick Polish accent. I especially loved how he would really get into the characters by creating different voices for both of the main characters.

This story is about a nasty spider that desperately wanted a beautiful fly to come alone and visit him in his parlor for some food and polite company. The spider continuously enticed the fly using various creative tactics, but the fly always refused. Then one day the spider complemented the fly's beautiful looks and she finally fell for his trap. She entered into his home and was never heard from again. At the end of this story there is also a lesson about avoiding stranger that offer children a free car ride and candy. Occasionally my grandfather would talk to us about what we would ever do if a stranger tried to offer us a free toy or to steer us away from our parents. Looking back, even though it was not the most romantic or happy story, I loved this story because it made me truly appreciate just how much my grandfather cared for us.

I can still remember after each time my grandfather read this story to me how much I wanted to squish the spider and any spider I saw for that matter. I had many favorite stories growing up as a child, but this one will always stick out in my mind.