he crickets sang in the grasses.

They sang the song of summer's ending, a

sad, monotonous song. "Summer is over

and gone," they sang. "Over and gone,

over and gone. Summer is dying, dying."

The crickets felt it was their duty to

warn everybody that summertime cannot

last forever. Even on the most beautiful

days in the whole year - the days when

summer is changing into fall the crickets

spread the rumor of sadness and change.

Everybody heard the song of the

crickets. Avery and Fern Arable heard it

as they walked the dusty road. They

knew that school would soon begin

again. The young geese heard it and

knew that they would never be little

goslings again. Charlotte heard it and

knew that she hadn't much time left. Mrs.

Zuckerman, at work in the kitchen, heard

the crickets, and a sadness came over

her, too. "Another summer gone," she

sighed.

Lurvy, at work building a crate for

Wilbur, heard the song and knew it was

time to dig potatoes.

"Summer is over and gone,"

repeated the crickets. "How many nights

till frost?" sang the crickets. "Good-bye,

summer, good-bye, good-bye!"

The sheep heard the crickets, and

they felt so uneasy they broke a hole in

the pasture fence and wandered up into

the field across the road. The gander

discovered the hole and led his family

through, and they walked to the orchard

and ate the apples that were lying on the

ground. A little maple tree in the swamp

heard the cricket song and turned bright

red with anxiety.

Wilbur was now the center of

attraction on the farm. Good food and

regular hours were showing results:

Wilbur was a pig any man would be

proud of. One day more than a hundred

people came to stand at his yard and

admire him. Charlotte had written the

word RADIANT, and Wilbur really

looked radiant as he stood in the golden

sunlight. Ever since the spider had

befriended him, he had done his best to

live up to his reputation. When

Charlotte's web said SOME PIG, Wilbur

had tried hard to look like some pig.

When Charlotte's web said TERRIFIC,

Wilbur had tried to look terrific. And

now that the web said RADIANT, he did

everything possible to make himself

glow.

It is not easy to look radiant, but

Wilbur threw himself into it with a will.

He would turn his head slightly and

blink his long eye-lashes.

Then he would breathe deeply. And

when his audience grew bored, he

would spring into the air and do a back

flip with a half twist. At this the crowd

would yell and cheer.

"How's that for a pig?" Mr.

Zuckerman would ask, well pleased

with himself. "That pig is radiant."

Some of Wilbur's friends in the

barn worried for fear all this attention

would go to his head and make him stuck

up. But it never did. Wilbur was modest;

fame did not spoil him. He still worried

some about the future, as he could hardly

believe that a mere spider would be able

to save his life. Sometimes at night he

would have a bad dream. He would

dream that men were coming to get him

with knives and guns. But that was only

a dream. In the daytime, Wilbur usually

felt happy and confident. No pig ever

had truer friends, and he realized that

friendship is one of the most satisfying

things in the world. Even the song of the

crickets did not make Wilbur too sad. He

knew it was almost time for the County

Fair, and he was looking forward to the

trip.

If he could distinguish himself at

the Fair, and maybe win some prize

money, he was sure Zuckerman would

let him live.

Charlotte had worries of her own,

but she kept quiet about them. One

morning Wilbur asked her about the Fair.

"You're going with me, aren't you,,

Charlotte?" he said

"Well, I don't know," replied

Charlotte. "The Fair comes at a bad time

for me. I shall find it inconvenient to

leave home, even for a few days."

"Why?" asked Wilbur.

"Oh, I just don't feel like leaving

my web. Too much going on around

here."

"Please come with me!" begged

Wilbur. "I need you, Charlotte. I can't

stand going to the Fair without you.

You've just got to come."

"No," said Charlotte, "I believe I'd

better stay home and see if I can't get

some work done."

"What kind of work?" asked

Wilbur.

"Egg laying. It's time I made an egg

sac and filled it with eggs."

"I didn't know you could lay eggs,"

said Wilbur in amazement.

"Oh, sure," said the spider. "I'm

versatile."

"What does 'versatile' mean - full

of eggs?" asked Wilbur.

"Certainly not," said Charlotte.

"'Versatile' means I can turn with ease

from one thing to another. It means I

don't have to limit my activities to

spinning and trapping and stunts like

that."

"Why don't you come with me to the

Fair Grounds and lay your eggs there?"

pleaded Wilbur. "It would be wonderful

fun."

Charlotte gave her web a twitch

and moodily watched it sway.

"I'm afraid not," she said. "You

don't know the first thing about egg

laying, Wilbur. I can't arrange my family

duties to suit the management of the

County Fair. When I get ready to lay

eggs, I have to lay eggs, Fair or no Fair.

However, I don't want you to worry

about it - you might lose weight. We'll

leave it this way: I'll come to the Fair if

I possibly can."

"Oh, good! " said Wilbur. "I knew

you wouldn't forsake me just when I

need you most."

All that day Wilbur stayed inside,

taking life easy in the straw. Charlotte

rested and ate a grasshopper. She knew

that she couldn't help Wilbur much

longer. In a few days she would have to

drop everything and build the beautiful

little sac that would hold her eggs.