By a sloping beach path, on a winding road, stands a sloping stop sign.
On the side of the stop sign lives a tiny spider named Sylvia.
Sylvia Spidey lives in a sticky spiderweb, that Daddy Spidey made just for her.
Daddy Spidey wove a web for Sylvia, created from the very transparent silk from his very own spidey-body!
He spun… and spun… and spun…all day and all night… and soon the web was finished!
Sylvia loves playing, sleeping, and flipping from her web by Dad's side, all day and all night. Most of all, she loves spitting on every single straw… the stickier the better!
On a sunny morning, Sylvia and Daddy Spidey wake up with a sudden THUMP… on the grassy path below!
“Oh no! Daddy, what happened to our webs?”
“Hmmmmm! I think our friend, the Wind, must have been very, very busy last night!” guesses Daddy Spidey.
Sylvia thinks about what could have happened with the Wind last night. Hmmmmmm!
(What about YOU? What do YOU think might have happened with the Wind last night?)
“Maybe the Wind was too late - for a very, very late night party with the mountain…
“Maybe it had to fly fast past our cobwebs to get there…
“Maybe - although the wind was very kind, it was clumsy, and not very careful…
“So it whizzed and screamed and ran, knocked down the stop sign, and accidentally knocked our webs loose…
“And then, the webs slid down the stop sign on the trail while we slept?”
“Yep,” Daddy Spidey nods. “I think you might be right! Good thinking, Sylvia.”
Sylvia bursts into tears. She doesn’t think it was good at all! No more cozy evenings in sight!
With all his eight legs, Daddy Spidey gives Sylvia a cozy teddy bear hug.
“Come on, my girl. Can you help me find the best place for our new home?”
“Yes Daddy, I can, and I will!” Sylvia wipes her tears.
(And what about you… yes, YOU there? WANT to help me help Dad? I know you can!)
Sylvia and Daddy Spidey crawl carefully, first across the path, then across the main road… after seeing both directions, of course…
They crawl… and crawl… and crawl… through days and nights…
…and finally arrive at a recently abandoned picnic area by the beach!
“Lets see… where can we make our new home?” asks Daddy Spidey.
“I don’t know, but let’s take a look around!”
(“What do you think? Where are we going to make our new home?”)
On a piece of candy wrapper? No. Too cute!
On a rock mushroom? No. Too squishy!
In a shell? No. Too salty!
In a lemon peel? No. Too sour!
It's really late, and Sylvia and Daddy Spidey are really, really tired.
They are about to give up for the day, when suddenly…
Sylvia finds a shiny snail shell, in the perfect size!
“I did it, I did it! I found us a new home!” shouts Sylvia.
They knock… and knock… and knock on the snail shell. (“Hello! Anyone there? Anyone living in here?”)
Completely quiet.
“Fantastic! It looks like we can move in!” smiles Daddy Spidey, relieved. “Good job, Sylvia!”
Daddy Spidey spins, and spins, and spins…all day and all night…
…and soon the new web is finished… this time… big enough for two!
Sylvia loves to play, sleep, and hang out in her new home, by Dad's side, all day and all night.
One sunny morning, Sylvia Spidey wakes up to the sound of one knock… and the sight of two eyes… on the shell door!
“Hi there! My name is Siri, Siri Snail! Daddy Snail said new neighbors moved in! Wanna crawl out and play?”
“So nice to meet you, Siri! I'm Sylvia, Sylvia Spidey, and this is Daddy Spidey. We’re crawling out now!”
“Look, Daddy! I have a new friend and she wants to play with me!” Siri smiles at Daddy Snail.
“How nice to hear, Siri! And how nice that these nice people have moved in to Mommy Snail's old shell!”
“Mamma Snail's old shell?” asks Sylvia, a little confused.
“Yep, the shell you live in now was Mommy Snail's house through countless days and nights,” says Siri. “Her name was Sara Snail.” “One day she had to say ‘bye’ to us forever.”
“Forever?” Sylvia asks with wide eyes.
“Forever,” Siri nods. A tear slides down her slimy face.
“She had to do something very important. The clouds needed someone really fast, who could help them crawl farther and faster across the sky. And Mommy was the fastest snail in the whole wide world.”
“So where does she live now?”
Siri looks up at Daddy Snail, and smiles again. Both Siri and Daddy Snail look up at the clouds.
“Up there,” Siri brags. “Now she has the most important job ever!”
Sylvia tries to smile as wide as Siri, but is too worried.
“But what if your mommy needs her shell back for her job?”
Both Daddy Snail and Siri laugh. Siri gives her new friend a big teddy bear hug with her whole slimy self.
“Mommy does not need shells in heaven! And without a shell, she runs even faster!”
Sylvia imagines a running Mommy Snail in the sky, teaching the clouds to run just as far and fast as her. She laughs, and laughs, and laughs.
But one more question still bothers Sylvia Spidey.
“Is Mommy Snail all alone up there?”
“Of course not! We think she has a neighbor and best friend in the sky, named Sally!”
Sally? Sylvia’s eyes open wider than ever.
“That was Mommy Spidey's name, wasn 't it, Daddy?” Mommy who had to leave forever, right after I was born?”
Daddy smiles down at Sylvia, and nods. “Just! She ran furiously fast too, even while you were growing in her belly! So the clouds wanted her help very early. See?”
With one long leg, Daddy Spidey points to the rain clouds that suddenly crept over them.
“When it gets dark and gray up there, it means it's going to rain,” Daddy Spidey explains. “The clouds hold water in their bodies, and pour water down only when they crawl as fast as they can.”
“So, thanks to Mommy Snail and Mommy Spidey, it's raining on the flowers, and then, there's a rainbow coming!”
“Wow!!!! Mommy’s gonna paint a rainbow!” scream Sylvia and Siri at the same time.