Charlotte's Web: E.B. White

This Simple Tale of Friendship

“But it’s unfair”, cried Fern. “The pig couldn’t help being born small, could it? If I had been very small at birth, would you have killed me?"
Mr Arable smiled. “Certainly not,” he said, looking down at his daughter with love. “But this different. A little girl is one thing; a little runty pig is another.”

“I see no difference,” replied Fern, still hanging on to the axe. “This is the most terrible case of injustice I ever heard of.”

“Well, I don’t like to spread bad news,” said the sheep, “but they’re fattening you up because they’re going to kill you, that’s why.”
“They’re going to what?” screamed Wilbur.
“Kill you. Turn you into smoked bacon and ham,” continued the old sheep.
“Stop!” screamed Wilbur. “I don’t want to die! Save me, somebody! Save me!”
“Be quiet, Wilbur!” said Charlotte, who had been listening to this awful conversation.“I can’t be quiet,” screamed Wilbur, racing up and down.

“I don’t want to be killed. I don’t want to die. Is it true what the old sheep says, Charlotte? Is it true they are going to kill me when the cold weather comes?”

“You shall not die,” said Charlotte, briskly.
“What? Really?” cried Wilbur. “Who’s going to save me?”

“I am,” said Charlotte.

“…The message I wrote in my web, praising Wilbur, has been received. The Zuckermans have fallen for it, and so has everybody else. Zuckerman thinks Wilbur is an unusual pig, and therefore he won’t kill him and eat him. I dare say my trick will work and Wilbur’s life can be saved.”
“Hurray!” cried everybody [all the animals in the meeting]
“Thank you very much,” said Charlotte. “Now I called this meeting in order to get suggestions. I need new ideas for the web. People are already getting sick of reading the words ‘SOME PIG!’ Any suggestions for a new slogan?”
“How about ‘Pig Supreme’?” asked one of the lambs.

“No good,” said Charlotte. “It sounds like a rich dessert.”

Next morning, Wilbur arose and stood beneath the web. He breathed the morning air into his lungs. Drops of dew, catching the sun, made the web stand out clearly.

Everybody stood at the pigpen and stared at the web and read the word, over and over, while Wilbur, who really felt terrific, stood quietly swelling out his chest and swinging his snout from side to side.“Terrific!” breathed Zuckerman, in joyful admiration. “Edith, you better phone the reporter on the Weekly Chronicle and tell him what has happened. He will want to know about this. He may want to bring a photographer. There isn’t a pig in the whole state that is as terrific as our pig.”

“Why did you do all this for me?” he asked. “I don’t deserve it. I’ve never done anything for you.”

“You have been a friend,” replied Charlotte.

One seemingly simple tale about fate and love, all told through an unlikely friendship between a practical spider and one endearing runt - their adventures, made ever more charming by the illustrations (by Garth Williams - PUFFIN BOOKS).

Like the story, to me, love and friendship come with no strings attached and need no reading between the lines.

It is also one of my saddest tale read - twisted my heartstrings. Love and friendship has no forever. They come packaged with transition and loss - what matters most is what had been done.

Say hi and thank you to your bestest friend today.

- Completed 17 July 2006 -