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barn. Aren’t you spending quite a lot of time there? You go there almost every afternoon, don’t you?”
    â€œI like it there,” replied Fern. She wiped her mouth and ran upstairs. After she had left the room, Mrs. Arable spoke in a low voice to her husband.
    â€œI worry about Fern,” she said. “Did you hear the way she rambled on about the animals, pretending that they talked?”
    Mr. Arable chuckled. “Maybe they do talk,” he said. “I’ve sometimes wondered. At any rate, don’t worry about Fern—she’s just got a lively imagination. Kids think they hear all sorts of things.”
    â€œJust the same, I do worry about her,” replied Mrs. Arable. “I think I shall ask Dr. Dorian about her the next time I see him. He loves Fern almost as much as we do, and I want him to know how queerly she is acting about that pig and everything. I don’t think it’s normal. You know perfectly well animals don’t talk.”
    Mr. Arable grinned. “Maybe our ears aren’t as sharp as Fern’s,” he said.

IX .      Wilbur’s Boast
    A SPIDER’S web is stronger than it looks. Although it is made of thin, delicate strands, the web is not easily broken. However, a web gets torn every day by the insects that kick around in it, and a spider must rebuild it when it gets full of holes. Charlotte liked to do her weaving during the late afternoon, and Fern liked to sit nearby and watch. One afternoon she heard a most interesting conversation and witnessed a strange event.
    â€œYou have awfully hairy legs, Charlotte,” said Wilbur, as the spider busily worked at her task.
    â€œMy legs are hairy for a good reason,” replied Charlotte. “Furthermore, each leg of mine has seven sections—the coxa, the trochanter, the femur, the patella, the tibia, the metatarsus, and the tarsus.”
    Wilbur sat bolt upright. “You’re kidding,” he said.
    â€œNo, I’m not, either.”
    â€œSay those names again, I didn’t catch them the first time.”
    â€œCoxa, trochanter, femur, patella, tibia, metatarsus, and tarsus.”
    â€œGoodness!” said Wilbur, looking down at his own chubby legs. “I don’t think my legs have seven sections.”
    â€œWell,” said Charlotte, “you and I lead different lives. You don’t have to spin a web. That takes real leg work.”
    â€œI could spin a web if I tried,” said Wilbur, boasting. “I’ve just never tried.”
    â€œLet’s see you do it,” said Charlotte. Fern chuckled softly, and her eyes grew wide with love for the pig.
    â€œO.K.,” replied Wilbur. “You coach me and I’ll spin one. It must be a lot of fun to spin a web. How do I start?”
    â€œTake a deep breath!” said Charlotte, smiling. Wilbur breathed deeply. “Now climb to the highest place you can get to, like this.” Charlotte raced up to the top of the doorway. Wilbur scrambled to the top of the manure pile.
    â€œVery good!” said Charlotte. “Now make an attachment with your spinnerets, hurl yourself into space, and let out a dragline as you go down!”
    Wilbur hesitated a moment, then jumped out into the air. He glanced hastily behind to see if a piece of rope was following him to check his fall, but nothing seemed to be happening in his rear, and the next thinghe knew he landed with a thump. “Ooomp!” he grunted.
    Charlotte laughed so hard her web began to sway.
    â€œWhat did I do wrong?” asked the pig, when he recovered from his bump.
    â€œNothing,” said Charlotte. “It was a nice try.”
    â€œI think I’ll try again,” said Wilbur, cheerfully. “I believe what I need is a little piece of string to hold me.”
    The pig walked out to his yard. “You there, Templeton?” he called. The rat poked his head out from under the trough.
    â€œGot a little