Molly Millie Moore

Once upon a time in the rolling hills of the West, there was a farm run by Old Man Grady.  

Farmer Grady didn’t use tractors or other machines to plow his fields. He liked to do things the old-fashioned way.  

So, the day came when he set out to buy a new horse. He got the biggest and strongest horse he could find. His name was Zeus.  

When Farmer Grady tried to ride him, Zeus jumped and bucked, sending Farmer Grady through the air.  

When he tried to plow his field, Zeus jumped and bucked, breaking the plow.  

Zeus was such a wild horse that Farmer Grady had him locked in the barn.  

All of the other animals were scared of Zeus because he was so big and mean. They allowed him to take over the barn and declare himself king. Not just king of the barn, but king of the entire farm.  

One bright, early spring morning, a little spider named Molly came crawling through a crack in the barn door. She was small, with eight spindly legs, a round, shiny green body, and six bright silvery-blue eyes that sparkled whenever she had a good idea. And her eyes did sparkle that day as she looked around and saw the perfect spot for her new home.  

High above the ground, where a post met a rafter, she climbed up and started to build her web.  

But just as she started spinning her first silken thread, a loud voice boomed below her.  

“WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?”  

Molly nearly fell off the post.  

It was Zeus the horse, glaring up at her with his enormous brown eyes.  

“Oh,” she said. “My name is Molly. Molly Millie Moore. I’m just building a web to catch flies so that I can feed my children when they hatch.”  

“Oh, no, you will not! I will not have any pests living in MY barn!”  

“But I won't bother you,” Molly pleaded.  

Molly could have pointed out that the barn belonged to Farmer Grady. But she decided to remain peaceful.  

“Get out!” Zeus shouted as he kicked the post, causing Molly to fall.  

But Molly used her web to glide safely to the ground.  

“That was mean of you.”  

“I’m Zeus, and this is my barn. Mine! I’m king around here.”  

“I might have been able to help you out.”  

“Sure, you can,” he laughed. “Spiders taste great when mixed with hay.”  

He gave a mean look at the other horses, and they began to laugh as well.  

“I’ll tell you what. If you can complete five challenges that I will give you, I’ll let you build your web. But if you fail even one of them, you’ll be part of my dinner.”  

“Five challenges? What are they?”  

“The first one is to bring me a blue feather.”  

“A blue feather? That’s it? I can do that.”  

“Not just any blue feather. You must get the largest feather from the top of the tallest tree. And you have to do it by the noon meal.”  

Off in the distance there was a wooded area with very tall trees. It was where a group of great blue herons nested. These were the largest blue birds around.  

It was only 8 a.m. There was no way Molly could get there.  

“It will take me days to get there and back,” Molly thought.  

Just then, she spotted Sandy Bluejay in the tree just outside the barn.  

“Mrs. Bluejay,” she called. “Can you come here for a moment?”  

“What do you want?” Sandy Bluejay responded. “I’m trying to feed my chicks and I’m almost out of food.”  

“I need to get to the top of those trees, get a feather, and be back before noon.”  

“Like I said, I’m busy with my chicks. But I guess I could eat a delicious spider and share her with my chicks.”  

“If you help me, I can help you catch more food.”  

“You, a spider, help me?” Sandy Bluejay laughed. “This I’d like to see. Hop on.”  

Molly hopped on Sandy’s back, and she flew into the sky. She reached the top of the trees in less than five minutes. Molly jumped into the nest but could not find a loose feather. A baby bird tried to eat Molly but fell from the nest when she jumped out of the way. She quickly spun a long silk thread, used it as a lasso, and saved the baby bird. The mother bird saw the whole thing. Her name was Brandy, and she was very pleased.  

“You saved my baby. How can I reward you?”  

“All I need is a large blue feather.”  

Brandy plucked a feather from her own tail and gave it to Molly.  

“Here you go. Thank you so much.”  

Sandy flew Molly back to the barn.  

“That was amazing. I can’t eat you. You can do a lot of good.”  

“Thank you,” Molly said. “Here’s a web for you to catch bugs for food.”  

Sandy flew back to her nest, and Molly hurried to Zeus to present the feather.  

The horse's mouth fell open.  

“Hmph! Beginner's luck,” he grumbled. “But you'll never manage the next one!”  

Zeus thought about it for a minute. He stared into space the whole time. Then he spoke.  

“I’ve got it. For your second challenge, I want you to bring me a golden bell from the old loft. It's hidden in the darkest corner.”  

“That doesn’t sound too hard.”  

“You first have to get past a group of mice that inhabit that area. You must bring it back without letting a single mouse escape!”  

Molly didn’t want anyone to know that she was terrified of mice. When she was just a young spider, a mouse ate her mother. She never forgot it. Even if she wasn’t afraid, it wasn’t like she could chase a bunch of mice around the loft. But she knew who could.  

Moris was lying outside sleeping under the bright sunlight. He stretched out to absorb all the rays he could. Molly walked up and called out to him.  

“Moris, hello, Moris.”  

Moris opened one eye and looked around.  

“Meow! Who dares awaken me from my catnap?”  

“Oh,” she said. “My name is Molly. Molly Millie Moore. I need your help.”  

“Why would I help a spider?”  

Moris tried to smash Molly with his large paw. Sandy Bluejay came to her rescue.  

“Moris,” Sandy called. “She needs your help. Just listen to her.”  

“OK. Talk.”  

“I need you to catch a few mice.”  

“Catch mice? Why should I do that? I've eaten already, and I'm far too comfortable to move now.”  

“You don’t have to eat them. Just keep them out of my way. They are preventing me from getting a bell.”  

“You still want me to do work. I could eat a bird and a spider for a small snack.”  

“If you help me, instead of eating me, I can help you.”  

“You! A spider! Help me?” Moris laughed. “How are you going to help me?”  

“Tell me what you want.”  

“I want a big ball of yarn and a soft place to sleep.”  

“You keep the mice occupied and I’ll get you what you want. I’ll even make it myself.”  

“I’d like to see that. You got a deal.”  

Moris jumped up. With Molly on his back, he sprinted into the loft, where the mice were busy nibbling crumbs. He didn't hurt them; he simply sat in front of their hole and gave a loud, mighty MEOW!  

The mice squeaked and scurried into their little nest, leaving the golden bell behind.  

“There’s your bell,” Moris said.  

Molly spun a long silk thread, grabbed the bell, and tied it around Moris’s neck. She then wove a little hammock from her strongest silk and fastened it between the warm wooden posts in the loft. She also made a big ball of silk for Moris to play with.  

“A hammock? A soft, floating hammock just for me?”  

“Just for you!”  

“Thanks. You just made a friend.”  

Molly and Moris hurried back to Zeus. She took the bell from Moris and tied it around Zeus’s neck.  

Zeus snorted so hard that hay flew out of his nostrils.  

“Well,” he said, “I can see that you are a clever little bug.”  

He said it more like an insult than a compliment.  

“Let’s see how clever you are with the next challenge.”  

Zeus walked back and forth as he thought of the next ordeal he could put Molly through.  

He stomped his foot on the ground three times.  

“This is perfect. For your third challenge, I want a bucket of fresh water brought from the well outside the farm. Not one drop may spill!”  

Now, the bell was not so hard for Molly to grab. The feather was even easier. But a bucket of water was different.  

Molly stared at the bucket.  

It was bigger than she was! She couldn't even lift its handle, let alone carry water all the way from the well.  

She looked outside and saw a cheerful hound dog named Rufus. “He could surely get the water for me,” she thought.  

“Rufus, could you carry a bucket of water from the well for me?” she asked.  

Rufus wagged his tail but shook his head.  

“I'm sorry, little spider. I'm busy looking after the farm. I can't carry water for you.”  

Molly sat quietly for a moment.  

“What if I could help you out somehow?”  

“You’re a spider,” Rufus laughed. “You can’t help me! You’re just an itty-bitty spider. I could swallow you by mistake and wouldn’t even know it.”  

“Tell me what you need or want. I may be able to do something for you.”  

“Can you watch the farm? I do need a break. I don’t have any time to play with my ball because I’m always busy looking after the farm.”  

“Well, I can’t look after the farm, but I have friends who can.”  

“Who are your friends?”  

“Moris the cat and Sandy the Bluejay.”  

“A cat and a bird? Don’t make me laugh.”  

“I also know a heron that owes me a favor. The three of them can do the job.”  

“OK, you get your friends and I’ll get you your water.”  

He grabbed the bucket by its handle, trotted carefully to the well, and returned with a bucket filled to the brim while Moris, Sandy, and Brandy watched the farm.  

Not a single drop spilled!  

Molly thanked Rufus and delivered the water to Zeus.  

Zeus looked at the water, then at Molly. He was growing angrier by the minute.  

“Impossible!” he shouted. “You must have cheated!”  

“No, Zeus, I have no need to cheat. I have friends who were willing to help. All I had to do was ask.”  

“Bah! Let's see if you can talk your way out of the fourth challenge!”  

He thought about it. He looked around to make sure there was nobody to help.  

“For your fourth challenge,” he said, “I want you to bring me a basket of the sweetest apples from the orchard. You must collect them from the very highest branches, and you may not climb a single tree!”  

Molly looked toward the orchard.  

The apples hung high above the ground, at least 20 feet up. She couldn't fly, jump, or reach them.  

She needed someone who could.  

She saw Caleb, the donkey, nibbling on clover in a nearby field.  

“Caleb, could you help me collect some apples from the highest branches of the orchard?”  

Caleb didn’t even look up. He kept his head down as he continued to eat the clover.  

“Why should I help you? I'm enjoying my clover, and apples are a lot of trouble to collect.”  

“It would really mean a lot to me.”  

“I would love to help you, but I can’t. I want some apples myself. But the farmer put those iron bars around the tree to stop me from ramming into it. I hurt my head every time I try.”  

“I’m sorry. I don’t want you to get hurt. I’ll find another way.”  

“You know, there is a group of squirrels who owe me a favor. But if I use up my favor to help you, what’s in it for me?”  

“Oh, I don’t know. I’ll owe you a favor. I could help you one day.”  

“Ha!” he laughed. “You’re just a spider. I could eat you without even knowing it. How could you possibly help me?”  

“Well, I did help a blue jay catch some food. I also saved a heron chick’s life. And I built a hammock and a ball of yarn—well, silk—for a cat. Then I made sure a dog got some playtime while others watched the farm. All that was today.”  

“You’re pretty good for someone so itty-bitty. I guess I could help you.”  

Caleb called the squirrels and requested their help. They climbed up his back and jumped onto the tree. Moments later, it was raining apples from the very top.  

Molly had made a silk basket and collected all of the apples she could. With Caleb’s help, she took the apples to Zeus.  

“What! You got them!”  

Zeus grabbed a nice, big apple from the basket and ate it. For a moment, he was happy. Apples were one of the few things that made him happy.  

“Wait! Now I know you cheated. I said that you weren’t allowed to climb the tree.”  

“Correct. You said that couldn't climb. Me.I didn’t climb the tree. The squirrels did. Not me.”  

Zeus’s jaw dropped. He was at a loss for words. Molly told the truth. She didn’t climb the tree. Zeus never said that she couldn’t get anyone else to climb the tree.  

“I know what the fifth and final challenge is. This is something you won’t be able to do. I am a king. King of the farm. I want you to make me feel like a king.”  

Molly looked around.  

“What makes a king not feel like a king?” she asked herself. “I know. A king would not be locked up in a barn, unable to run free.”  

Molly grabbed a key from the hook, put it into the keyhole, and the door swung open.  

Zeus tried to run out, but his feet were hurting too badly.  

Molly wasn’t a doctor and couldn’t tell why his feet were hurting. But Farmer Grady would be able to tell. The only problem was that humans didn’t listen to spiders. That is, adult humans didn’t.  

Farmer Grady had three grandchildren: Lucy, Bill, and Sam. Molly tried to get them to help. They were playing near the old oak tree in the middle of the farm.  

“Hello, children,” she said. But they didn’t hear her. She was just too itty-bitty for a human’s ears to hear.  

She climbed the tree and lowered herself with a string of her own silk.  

“Hello, children,” she shouted.  

It was Bill who heard it.  

“Did y’all hear that?” he asked.  

“I didn’t hear anything,” Sam said.  

“I heard something,” Lucy said. “I think that spider is talking to us.”  

“Silly girl,” Sam said. “Spiders don’t talk.”  

“But we can talk,” Molly said. “We just don’t normally talk to humans.”  

“Why are you talking now?” Bill asked.  

“A horse in the barn needs help. His feet hurt too badly for him to walk.”  

“That’s Zeus,” Lucy said. “Grandpa told us to stay away from him. He’s mean. Zeus, not Grandpa.”  

“What if I can get him to be nice?”  

“What can you do? You’re just a spider. He could eat you with his hay without realizing it.”  

“I can keep him calm while you figure out what’s wrong.”  

“What do we get?” Lucy asked.  

“Yeah, what do we get?” Sam asked. “We help you and we can get in trouble with Grandpa. You’re just an itty-bitty spider. What can you do for us?”  

“What do you want?”  

“I want to see a big spiderweb,” Sam said.  

“That’s simple,” Molly said. “I’ll let you watch me build mine.”  

“I want to hear a really good story,” Bill said.  

“Again. Simple. I’ll tell you a story of how I met two birds, a cat, a dog, and a donkey. I’ll tell you how they, along with three children helped me outsmart a mean horse.”  

“I want something a little harder,” Lucy said. “I want to ride Zeus.”  

“That is harder. But if you can help get rid of his pain, I’m sure he’d be happy enough to let you ride him.”  

“You’ve got a deal.”  

They all agreed at the same time.  

Lucy went in first. Zeus started to jump and kick.  

“Zeus,” Molly called. “Calm down and let her help you.”  

“Why should I?”  

“You could just stay in pain and stay locked up.”  

Zeus stopped. Molly wasn’t sure if he was calm, but he stayed still.  

Lucy started to rub Zeus’s head to keep him calm.  

“Wow,” Zeus thought. “I like this.”  

Zeus had never been treated so kindly before.  

Bill and Sam carefully examined Zeus’s feet and noticed a thorn in his front left hoof.  

“Hold still,” Sam said. “This may hurt just a little.”  

Zeus neighed and pulled back a little. Lucy continued to rub his head.  

Sam carefully pulled the thorn from his hoof, and Zeus jumped up. When he landed, he noticed that he wasn’t in pain anymore. Zeus was happier than he had ever been.  

“Thank you,” Zeus said. “Thank you so very much.”  

“You’re welcome,” Lucy said.  

“Oh, Molly, I’m sorry that I was mean to you. Can you forgive me? You have been so nice to me this whole day. Go ahead and build your web.”  

Molly climbed up the post and built a web right over Zeus. It was made with the words “Zeus, King of Grady’s Farm” written in it.  

The children watched as she built the web and told the story of all that happened that day. They were happy that they were part of the story.  

“Is there anything I can do for you?” Zeus asked.  

“Yes,” Molly said. “Lucy would like to ride you.”  

“Go ahead. Hop on.”  

Zeus bent down so that Lucy could ride.  

Molly opened the barn doors and Zeus galloped out with Lucy riding. Farmer Grady watched in amazement as Zeus carried Lucy so calmly. Zeus walked right up to him, bent down, and allowed Lucy to get off.  

“Sorry, Grandpa,” Lucy said. “I know you told us never to go near Zeus. But he was only mean because his foot was hurting. We took a thorn out of his foot. I think he needs some new shoes also.”  

Farmer Grady arranged for Zeus to get new horseshoes, too. 

From that day on, everybody was happy. Farmer Grady got his farm plowed. Zeus was not in pain. The Grady children got to hear stories told by a spider. Rufus got to play with his ball. Moris got to sleep in a nice soft hammock just for himself. Brandy knew that her chicks were safe. Sandy had help catching food. And Molly was able to build her web.  

As for Caleb, Molly still owed him a favor. But that's another story.