Once upon a time there was a spider, a frog, and a turtle. And they were all caught up in a big storm.
The spider could build anything in the world with his web. So he spun a roof to shield him from the storm. But the rains grew too heavy and the spider’s web could not withstand the water’s peltings much longer. The spider was washed away.
The spider caught the leg of a frog and said to him, “Help me, Frog! My webs could not withstand the storm and now I am drowning! You, on the other hand, were born in rivers. Please, save me.”
The frog looked at the spider and, with his tongue twitching, asked, “Why, Spider, should I not just eat you right now?”
“Well,” the spider replied, “because, my web can build anything. And if you help save me, I will build for you anything you desire.”
“And what is it that you believe I desire?”
“I could spin you a web, a special web, one that catches only the biggest and tastiest insects for you to eat.”
“Hmm,” the frog pondered. “So be it. I will save you, Spider.”
And so, the spider latched onto the frog’s back and together they braved the storm. However, soon enough, the winds grew too strong and the frog’s legs could not keep them afloat for much longer. The frog and the spider were washed away.
The frog caught the leg of a turtle and said to him, “Help us, Turtle! This spider’s webs could not withstand the storm. And my legs are not strong enough to swim any farther so now we are both drowning! You, on the other hand, can carry the world on your back. Please, save us.”
The turtle looked at the frog and the spider and asked them, “Why, Frog, should I not just eat you right now?”
“Well,” the frog replied, “because, I know that your reflexes are slow, Turtle. Bugs must pester you to no end. Let me and my friend on your back and I will eat any insects that get in your way.”
“Hmm,” the turtle pondered. “No. Bugs do not bother me. And if they did, I have my shell to bury into or the water to dive under.”
“Well,” the spider said, “my web can build you anything in this world you desire.”
“But” the turtle replied, “there is nothing in this world I want.”
The spider thought for a while and had to agree with the turtle. There was nothing he could want.
Crack, the thunder clanged. “Soon, we will both drown without your help!” the frog pleaded once again.
“I’m sorry,” the turtle said, “but there is nothing you can give me.”
And right when rains were heaviest and the winds were strongest, the spider exclaimed, “We can keep you company!”
The turtle pondered. And he realized how his loneliness was hard and what the spider offered, he may need. “OK,” the turtle said.
And so, the frog latched onto the turtle’s shell, and the spider on the frog’s back. And together they braved the storm.
/The end.
