Outdoor Visits  by Edith M. Patch

The Yellow Spider

A yellow spider lived among the flowers on a goldenrod plant.

Don went to visit her one day.

He did not find her at first and he thought she was not at home.

The spider was about the same color as the goldenrod. She hid among the yellow flowers and did not move. She was hard to see while she was so quiet.


[Illustration]

At last Don saw the yellow spider. Then he laughed and said, "How do you do, Mrs. Spider? I came to see you and I thought you were not at home."

After a time a fly came to visit the goldenrod. It was a pretty fly with yellow stripes on its body. The fly was hungry and came to eat some pollen and drink some nectar.

The fly did not see the spider but the spider saw the fly.

When the fly came near enough, the spider jumped and caught it.

Don jumped, too, when the spider did. He was surprised to see a quiet spider move so quickly.

The goldenrod plants had no flowers in the spring time. So this spider lived among other kinds of flowers then.

For a while the spider lived among white flowers. She was not a yellow spider then. She was white.

The spider could change her color so she would be the same color as her home. She could be white among white flowers and yellow among yellow flowers.

This spider was shaped somewhat like a crab and her name was Crab Spider. She had four long legs and four short legs. She could walk sidewise and backward more quickly than forward.


[Illustration]

Don told Nan about his visit.

He said, "I saw a spider that looked like a little yellow crab."