The Spider and the Fly
One day I read an article which included the poem, “The
Spider and the Fly” in it. As I
read the poem I began....
to ponder its meaning.
I realized how very true
this simple childhood message is, not only for children but for us as adults,
who now live in a world that is ever increasing in wickedness. Sins that many today have embraced and
claim to be the way of life are those subtle whisperings brought out in this
simple poem.
This poem was written by Mary Howitt and published in
1829, and yet its message continues
to live on as a great teaching application. For me these were the things that were brought back to my
mind as I began to understand more fully its message.
The first stanza reads:
“Will you walk into my parlour?” said the Spider to the
Fly,
Tis the prettiest little parlour that ever you did spy;
The way into my parlour is up a winding stair,
And I’ve a many curious things to shew when you are
there.”
“Oh no, no,” said the little Fly, “to ask me is in vain,
for who goes up your winding stair
-can
ne’er come down again.”
Other verses in this poem talk about the seductive
flattery and the charm that the spider uses on the fly to entice the fly into
its lair. There were such things
as physical comforts, things that are pleasing to the senses and physical
needs, and finally those things that please the vanity in all of us. The Fly resists the Spider’s
invitations over and over again, but the Spider never loses its confidence and
knows that it’s just a matter of time before the fly will be back. So while it waits, the Spider weaves a
web in the corner of its den and waits for just the right moment for the fly to
return.
The Fly does return
and so begins the Spider’s flattering
words in a tone that captivates the fly.
Instead of flying away from the danger, the Fly stays and listens and
then suddenly it’s too late:
“Alas,
alas! How very soon this silly little Fly,
Hearing
his wily, flattering words, came slowly flitting by;
With buzzing
wings she hung aloft, then near and nearer drew,
Thinking
only of her brilliant eyes, and green and purple hue-
Thinking
only of her crested head – poor foolish thing! At last,
Up
jumped the cunning Spider, and fiercely held her fast.
He
dragged her up his winding stair, into his dismal den,
Within
his little parlour – but she ne’er came out again!
Now for a child’s poem, this is a sad story but one that
was written in such a way that could be understood by a child. It is simple, and its message is
obvious and easily grasped by children.
In the ending stanza the author adds a warning for the children and a
wonderful message.
“And now
dear little children, who may this story read,
To idle,
silly flattering words, I pray you ne’er give heed;
Unto an
evil counselor, close heart and ear and eye,
And take
a lesson from this tale, of the Spider and the Fly."
This poem has a timeless message.
Since the Fall of Adam and Eve, people
have had an inclination to follow earthly desires and to succumb to human
weaknesses, such as our desires and appetites. But the difference for us, is that many of the weaknesses or
“natural man” tendencies in us that cause us to make a mistake or to sin,
usually only leave a small scar, feelings of regret and sorrow. Unlike the Fly, we can get a second
chance so to speak. We can change
and fix the mistake and take away the regret and sorrow, if we choose.
When I was a teenager, I had good friends and I grew up in
a good family. I really was a good
girl, but sometimes a rebellious spirit came out in me. It always seemed to happen when I was
enticed or taunted by my peers who said I would never do something like that
because I was a goody-goody....
“There was that Spider tempting me to come in.”
One time, my best friend and I found ourselves
wondering what it would be like to take a piece of jewelry from the drug store
without paying for it. We wondered what it would feel like and if we could
really do it. We thought
about it a lot, which was the first mistake, the second was, we disregarded the
counsel of our parents and church leaders who had taught us for years what was
right and wrong and the consequences of choosing to do wrong. We knew it was wrong, but for some
reason we just wanted to try it once.....
“Just like the fly, who finally decided it wouldn’t hurt just to fly in
a little closer.”
During
those years of my youth it bothered me when I did something that I knew my
parents would not approve of or which I knew was wrong. But in this instance, I forgot all of
that. My friend and I casually
walked into the store and went back to where the jewelry was. When no one was looking, I carefully
put a necklace in my pocket and walked out. It was so easy!
I had done it!
Unfortunately,
I felt awful! I remember going
home and just looking at the necklace and thinking, “Now what do I do”? Pride would not let me go back and
confess because the owner knew my family well. I could not wear it for it was a reminder of my sin. So I threw it in the garbage, hoping
that would be the end of it. For a
long time I was able to keep that sin out of my mind. But whenever I heard a lesson on repentance it would take
center stage again. Unbeknownst to
me it
became a heavy weight around my neck
and halted in many respects my spiritual
progress. Many years later, as an
adult and a mother, it was brought back to my mind again and I suddenly
realized I needed to fix my mistake.
I was being prompted by the Holy Ghost to take care of sins that I had
thought were small and unimportant.
That day that I chose to go back to my hometown and approach the
storeowner and admit my mistake and pay for the item I stole, was a humiliating
and humbling experience for me.
But when I left the store, I was happy and a burden was lifted from my
shoulder.
So unlike the Fly that entered the Spider’s lair and could
“ne’er come down again,” I am grateful for the principle of repentance and the
divine miracle of forgiveness.
I have learned that it would have been better if I had not succumbed to
the temptation in the first place, thus avoiding many years of regret and
sorrow that came from the consequence of sinning that day.
But I also learned a great lesson in that mistake and so
today I am more fully aware of the adversary’s enticements to sin and the
skills he so subtly uses on us to follow him. I also know what sin feels like....
and it is not a good
feeling, no matter how small.
King Benjamin’s address to his people in Mosiah 4:29-30, tells us all what we must do.
“And finally, I
cannot tell you all the things whereby ye may commit sin; for there are divers
ways and means, even so many that I cannot number them. But this much I can tell you, that if
ye do not watch yourselves, and your thoughts, and your words, and your deeds,
and observe the commandments of God, and continue in the faith of what ye have
heard concerning the coming of our Lord, even unto the end of your lives, ye
must perish. And now, O man,
remember, and perish not.”
Taking a personal inventory of ourselves is not always
easy, and can be rather painful. I
invite you to do so and to use the gift of the atonement to make all things
right in your life. Let the Savior
lift those burdens from your shoulder and you will find great peace and the way
open up for you to continue your spiritually progression.
Addition reading:
Approaching the Throne of God with Confidence
The Spider and the Fly Poem
