Ah, there is a swing in
the web again. I guess
someone is in!
Oh God, again the
cobweb, I’m caught!
Good,
welcome fly dear, I was
waiting for you
While this happened, a lady was cleaning her room. She sucked the spider,
the fly and the web all into the vacuum cleaner.
Eh, it’s so dark
(grgrgr. gr…..). What’s that
noise? What’s happening?
My head is whirling.
I’m falling. What is going
on? Help! Help!
By this time, the lady switched off the vacuum cleaner and everything became
quiet.
Who’s that? I
can’t see anyone.
It’s me, a poor
spider. Who’s
there?
Oh, are you Miss
Spider? I’m the fly you
were going to eat a few
minutes ago.
That’s the rule. Spiders
eat flies, birds eat
spiders and cats eat
birds.
It’s so nice to hear
you. Are we going
to die?
Ah, no, it can’t be so.
I think we have been eaten
up by something bigger than
both of us.
I really feel sorry for
all the flies I’ve eaten. If I
get out of here, I would be
a different person.
I wish there was a world
where spiders and flies
would be friends and insects
would be free from fear!
I would like to drink
honey-like butterflies. It
wouldn’t be a bad idea to learn
to eat berries.
Oh, I was also thinking the same.
If I live longer, I would change myself too. I
won’t go to rubbish heaps and sit on rotten
things. I wouldn’t walk on anyone’s plate with
dirty shoes on.
That’s interesting! I don’t
think we have ever had a chance to
talk to each other and know each
other’s feelings like this before
u…n….u….n…. But….
but it’s too late, or else
we could have changed
the world.
What will happen next?
In the meantime, someone took the bag of the
vacuum cleaner and emptied it onto the garbage heap.
The spider got frightened. But, in a short while, he
recovered. It stretched its legs and began making a new
web.
Fly dear, are
you here?
Yes, Miss Spider
are you there?
Look, I’ve made
a beautiful and
peaceful new web.
Do come and see it.
Boo..n… both! This is where
you have to be Miss Spider. It looks just
like the old one. I’m going. I can’t wait.
We were friends but after all, I’m a fly
and you are a spider.
And the fly was ready to take off.
But where are
are you going?
To a new rubbish heap
and then walk on
someone’s lunch with
my dirty shoes.
But, fly dear, we
are friends now.
Do forget the past.
Ah, me ……. but I
won’t be again!
The fly rubbed its legs clean and flew off! And the spider sat and eagerly
waited for an insect to get trapped in its web.
Reading Comprehension
Q.1. Use numbers to put the sentences in the order in which the events happened.
(i) The vacuum cleaner sucked the spider and the fly. 2
(ii) And the spider thought she was going to die. 7
(iii) A fly was caught in a cobweb. 1
(iv) The spider was inside the tube of the vacuum cleaner. 3
(v) The fly couldn’t see the spider but he spoke to her. 6
(vi) The spider asked for help. 5 (vii) The spider’s head was whirling. 4
(viii) Then both the fly and the spider reached a soft surface when the machine stopped. 8
(ix) The spider felt sorry for all the flies she had eaten. 9
(x) Someone emptied the bag of the vacuum- cleaner on a garbage heap. 10
(xi) The spider recovered from her fright . 11
(xii) The fly went off in search of a new rubbish heap. 13
(xiii) The spider invited the fly to her new web. 12
Q. 3. Fill in the blanks with appropriate words : (a lady, pipe, bag, sucker)
(a) The part of the vacuum cleaner that sucked the cobweb was the Nozzle.
(b) The part of the vacuum cleaner in which the spider and the fly were moving about was the dust bag.
(c) The part of the vacuum cleaner that was emptied into the garbage was the bag.
(d) The vacuum cleaner was operated by a lady.