Dunsany wrote:

Twas the spider that spoke. "It is the work of the world to make cities and palaces. But it is not for man. What does man really do but prepare these cities for me. Ten years to a hundred it takes to build a city and for five or six hundred more it mellows, and is prepared for me. Then I inhabit it and hide all away that is ugly and draw beautiful lines about it to and fro. The work of the world is building cities and I inherit them all."

I shrieked in horror in my mind when I read this. For I thought is this true? Or is it just the perspective of a wacked out spider? Are we really slaves to maggots and such? Worms? Are we but food and builders for the insect world? Shudder

No, probably not. The idea is altogether too farfetched to believe. I think Dunsany is just saying that after we marvel about our lastest palace, we forget about it and start building a new one, then spiders create cobwebs symbolizing abandonment. But who cares what I think...

And I work for her.

We are slaves to cats.

Always have been. Ask any cat.

He's got a point there, I've never really liked the way my girlfriend's cats look at me. :shudder: