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Author:  Andrew Packard Copyright Date:  1961 Publisher:  Macmillan Pagination:  63 p. Dedication:  to May and Amanda and Jane, Ann, Alexander and Nickolas

Mr. Spindles lived in a little wooden house, among the bushes, down a steep path away from the road and the rest of the world.      He had a cupboard full of canned food, pickled peaches and things, so he was quite happy until ... one day he found SPIDERS in his CUPBOARD!      What a nuisance! He had to start spring cleaning at once! And when he started, he found SPIDERS in the CLOTHES CLOSET ... and under the window sill! ... and between all the planks outside the house!      So he spring cleaned right through to the summer. But Mr. Spindles could not get rid of the Spiders.      He had to consult a Specialist! (A Specialist is a man you read about in the newspapers who knows only one thing.) The Specialist knew that for Spider trouble you must have birds to eat them. “Keep canaries!” he said.      But the canaries did not like Spiders! And they became very hungry. And Mr. Spindles had to feed them bird seed until he had no more. So he went to the Specialist again. But the Specialist did not know what else to do.      Then a Firm of Specialists came up and said: “You’re just the man we’ve been waiting for!” (A Firm is two people who tell you the same thing and are firm about it.) “We have the answer to your problem. You must fumigate your house ... smoke them out!”      They put a large tent around the house. Then they closed the tent tight, and they fumigated all day long.      When they opened the tent, all the Spiders’ webs were gone. And so were all the white cocoons that the Spiders had made for their babies to sleep in.      So Mr. Spindles said, “Thank you,” and went back into his house.      But in Mr. Spindles’ house ... the Spiders were running about everywhere! The webs had been smoked away so the Spiders had no home to sit in quietly. And they had no white cocoons for their babies to sleep in! What could Mr. Spindles do NOW?      He had worn out all his spring cleaning brushes and pans. And he could not get help from the Specialists any more because he had no money. And saying, “Thank you” was not enough pay for them.      HE WAS FRANTIC! The Spiders were busy building new webs and cocoons for their babies. So the only thing left to do ... was to ...           BURN                DOWN                     HIS HOUSE!      Then his friend who lived in another part of the wood came up and watched Mr. Spindles putting paper and kindling under his house. He sat on the back of the garden seat and said: “You could come and have supper with me. That would be a change from canned food.” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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