Now though the fairy did not know it, Mrs. Spider was very fond of music; and when she heard the sweet song, she came out to listen. The little fairy did not see her, so she sang on:—
"Grasshoppers gay, by night and day,
Keep ugly goblins far away
From the land where the fairies dwell,
From the land where the fairies dwell."
Mrs. Spider came a little farther out, while the fairy sang:—
"There's love, sweet love, for one and all—
For love is best for great and small—
In the land where the fairies dwell,
In the land where the fairies dwell."
Just as the fairy finished the song she looked up, and there was Mrs. Spider, who had come out in a hurry.
"The flies are not going to help you," said she, "so I will;" and she showed the fairy how to break the slender threads, until she was untangled and could fly away through the sunshine.
"What can I do for you, dear Mrs. Spider?" the fairy asked, as she picked up her bundle of dreams.
"Sing me a song sometimes," replied Mrs. Spider. But the fairy did more than that; for soon after she reached fairyland, the fairy queen needed some fine lace to wear on her dress at a grand ball.
"Fly into the world," she said, "and find me a spinner; and tell her that when she has spun the lace, she may come to the ball and sit at the queen's table."
As soon as the fairy heard this, she thought of the spider, and made haste to find her and tell her the queen's message.