The Girl Who Wove

Part One · The Weaver

Arachne was a girl in the land of Lydia. She could weave better than anyone. Her cloth looked alive.

She wove a rose, and the bees came to it. She wove a river, and it seemed to ripple.

People whispered, "Athena must have taught her." Athena was the Greek goddess of weaving.

"Nobody taught me!" said Arachne. "I am better than Athena. Let her come and try."

Part Two · The Contest

The next day, an old woman came to the door. "Do not boast," she said. "Say sorry to the goddess."

"I will not," said Arachne. "Why does Athena not come here herself? Is she afraid?"

The old woman stood up tall. She was Athena! Her gown shone like light.

"Then let us weave," said Arachne. She was not afraid. They set up two looms side by side.

Athena wove a hill and an olive tree. It was beautiful. Arachne wove the gods acting silly.

Athena looked at every thread. She found no mistake at all. But the cloth was unkind.

Part Three · The Spider

Athena touched Arachne's forehead. Arachne grew tiny and round. She had eight thin legs.

She was a little brown spider. She swung from a silver thread.

"Live and weave," said Athena. "You will never have to stop." Spiders weave their webs still.