A Spider, a Fly… and a bit of Lava.
As usually, when I don’t have any special themes on my mind to write about, I ask my kid. Mostly, I don’t know what to do with his suggestions: “Dad, that’s easy - you can write about planet Earth, about Lava, you can write about how the dinosaurs died out, about spiders and flies…” I keep on asking him though, because children’s imaginations are wonderful! Even though their stories go straight to the point, without trying to teach us a lesson, they still give us plenty of opportunities to wonder and learn. That said, I may very well one day write a story about how the dinosaurs died out on planet Earth, and how lava may have had a part in it, but it’s not going to be today. So a spider and a fly story it is… but first off, my story entry was given limitations - both the spider and the fly only live for one day, and they want to build a machine, so that they can live forever. So…
STORY TIME!
Me: “The spider and the fly, since they were born, knew that they had only one day to live. One day is not a lot of time. So they wanted to make it count! Together, they formed an idea, that they will build a very special machine, that extends life! The fly, that was very quick at thinking, drew up the blueprints, so off to work they went! The spider was precise, and the fly had a great overview of the progress, so it wasn’t a long time, before the very special machine was finished! It took them almost their entire lives! They stepped into the machine, and ZAP!, they were no longer destined to live only one day. Then, the spider, that has always been very good at catching flies, caught the fly and ate it. A spider is still just a spider after all, and what it does best, is catching flies…”
Boy: “No, dad. The spider and the fly are brother and sister. Brothers and sisters don’t eat each other. After they built the machine and used it, they lived forever. The end!”
… we both smile.
There’s an interesting thing that happens to what we look for in stories when we become adults. We start believing that there are no real happy ends, only good lessons. So for today, I’m going to trust my kid that sometimes, a spider is not just a spider. And that sometimes, a simple smile is more important than a lesson. Even if it requires for a spider and a fly to be brother and sister. …and on second thought, a Lava story with a happy ending actually does sound pretty great!