The Spider And The Bee - Crayola Lectern

I’m not sure how I feel about Dennis anymore. Dennis is the spider who has resided now in his luxury web in the old sash lounge window for over two years, undisturbed by me largely on account of his size but also due to the fact that he is a relatively predictable creature (or so I thought) never straying from his gossamer snare. So it was a cause of some consternation for me when an errant bee veered too close to his silky domain, got a bit stuck and was then set upon with utmost vigour by an extremely determined Dennis. It’s a side of Dennis I’ve never encountered before and to be honest, I didn’t think he had it in him to make such an attack. Brian (the bee) put up one hell of a fight, certainly not one to take his demise lying down and he made things as difficult as he could for Dennis, thrusting his stinger at him, twisting and writhing in and out of Dennis’s grip whilst the spider ducked and dived, weaved and dodged, maintaining his eight-legged grip on Brian. I was struck by how long it all took. The fight lasted around half an hour. I left them to it and when I returned Brian was tied up good and proper, breathing his last whilst Dennis had disappeared back down into the sash for a good lie down. Fast forward: three months later: Brian’s corpse still lies high up on the window ledge, surrounded by those of lesser flies. There’s not much of him left now more due to decomposition than Dennis’s feasting I think. Dennis has been out and about a lot less since the bout. I think he may have suffered himself quite a blow during it. Fast forward: another month: Dennis died. I’ve hoovered up his larder / graveyard of provisions. He is down in the sash, all curled up, where the hoover can’t reach him like an ancient Egyptian pharaoh, entombed forever (or until the windows are replaced). 42 seconds of this sorry episode has been consigned to history via the medium of film - it may be viewed here. This improv is in two sections - the day of the insect fight begins around 3'30" with the preceding section illustrating the spider's predictable life.