He then raised the trap and made it fast, so that it would not fall down, and from the opening of his dwelling he watched for prey. His body could not be seen, as it was hidden by the darkness of the burrow. He had not been long on the watch when he heard the footsteps of a large fly walking toward his burrow. His wicked eyes glittered with fierce joy at the prospect of a meal, and he prepared to attack his unsuspecting victim, who was moving straight to his doom.
When the fly came in sight, the spider ran out at full speed toward the poor creature, seized him with his pincers, dragged him inside of the burrow, and then devoured his body, except his tiny legs and wings, which he threw aside, as they had no juice or blood in them.
The fly, however, was not big enough to make him a full meal. He was still very hungry, and this time he prowled outside, but always remaining within sight of his burrow, stopping now and then in a good place of vantage to watch for victims.
Suddenly he heard the noise made by the wings of a wasp that was flying about, and was himself looking for prey. Seized with fear, the spider ran to his burrow as fast as his legs could carry him, and, when inside, closed the door. He had escaped in the nick of time; the wasp, with his extraordinary powers of vision, had sighted him at once, and came within an ace of catching him.
The spider, once inside, felt safe and hugged himself, as he said: “How lucky I am to have escaped with my life from this wicked wasp! They are always after us poor spiders. How we hate them!
“Several gifts have been given to us trap-door spiders,” he mused, “so that we can get our living and escape our enemies; but even with all these we cannot always save ourselves. For our enemies are wary, cunning, and treacherous, and often get the better of us; fortunately we have very sharp ears and eyes.”
While the spider was hiding in his burrow for fear of the wasp, it happened that a fierce, black mogara ant, about one inch long, was also watching for prey from his own dark burrow.
While waiting, the mogara said to himself: “We mogaras live alone in our burrows, and though they seem alike to others, they are different, and each can recognize his own.
“We are brave, and not afraid to attack prey much larger and stronger than ourselves, for we know the vulnerable parts of those we fight. We hold our legs to the ground to prevent them from escaping, and our pincers do the rest. One who is timid gets no prey. Oh, how I should like a spider for my next meal!”