The Spider and the King
This
tale is as familiar to British children as the legend of
George Washington and the cherry tree is to American children.
It was the winter of 1306, and Robert Bruce, newly crowned king of Scotland, sat shivering and hungry in a tiny hut on an Irish island. King Edward I of England, who had decided that he could rule Scotland very well himself, had beaten Bruce and his men in six battles and finally driven them out of their own country.
“If there ever was a time to give up, this is it,” thought Bruce bitterly as he gnawed on a turnip he’d managed to find that day. His men had been scattered in the latest battle, and his only companion was a small spider, busily at work on her web in a corner of the hut.
He watched as she struggled to attach one of her strands to a wooden rafter. Again and again, a blustery wind would sneak through the cracks of the hut and shake the thread loose. Again and again, she would begin the task of attaching it once more.
“You’ve also tried six times and failed, my friend,” Bruce told her. “If there ever was a time to give up, this is it.”
But she seemed not to hear. Patiently, a seventh time, she spun a thread, drew it to the rafter, and this time . . . it held!
“My most humble apologies,” said Bruce. “It seems that I was mistaken. If there ever was a time to make one more try, this is it!”
In the spring of that year, Robert Bruce returned to Scotland and began the task of gathering his men. Finally, in 1314, he led his forces against the English at Bannockburn. The Scots were badly outnumbered, but because of their strong determination and cunning strategy, they were able to drive out the English and free their land from foreign rule.
And it is said that to this very day everyone from the Scottish clan of Bruce is especially kind to spiders.
