“You were with me,” laughed Spider Eyes, “but it was all in a dream. Now we must call on Dr. Spider before we set out in earnest to see the beautiful world.”
“He has been watching us from his door,” said Chip Wing. “Why, he is coming to meet us!”
And, sure enough, out came Dr. Spider from his web, that reached from one rose branch to another.
Down he came, swinging on a fine thread; but before he touched the ground the elves ran and called to him to stop.
He paused and asked: “What do you want, my little fellows and nephews? what do you want?”
“Oh, Dr. Spider,” they answered, “we have brought Spider Eyes, who has hurt his wing. We are sure you can heal him.”
“Well, if that is the case,” said Dr. Spider, “I will go back to my office, and I will send down the stairs, so that the hurt one can climb to my web.”
Then he began to spin upward, and soon was seated in the middle of his web.
A gossamer thread now floated down on the air to the little fellows, and they knew it was from Dr. Spider.
Chip Wing caught it, and hand over hand Spider Eyes climbed up. The others flew, more quickly.
When they reached the web they found Dr. Spider waiting for them.
How daintily they stepped on each thread on their way to his office, which was in the middle of the web.
“Well, Spider Eyes,” asked the doctor, “what is the matter with your wing? How did you hurt it?”
“Oh, doctor,” answered Spider Eyes, “we were on our journey to see the beautiful world, and were taking a ride on a toad’s back. He jumped through a thistle hedge, and some of the thistles caught my wing. It does hurt me so.”
“Ah, my little fellow,” said the doctor, “why were you not contented at home? Is not everything beautiful enough in Elfland? Is not Queen Wishtah the kindest and best of Queens?”
“Oh, yes,” they all said, “we love our homes, but we have heard so much of the beautiful world that we want to see it.”
“Well, well! my little men,” said the doctor, “I think you had better go back to your good homes. Home is the best place for every one.”
Then he looked at poor Spider Eyes’ wing and found it was torn very badly in three different places. No wonder it pained him.
He pulled out a sharp needle from his case, then he drew some fine thread from his body, which he fastened to the side of the wing and began to weave back and forth, over and under, in and out, until the wing looked as it did before.
Then to make it glossy he spat upon it.
“Now my work is done, and my advice to you still is, go home to Elfland, and leave the beautiful world for others to find.”
“Oh, thank you, Dr. Spider, for what you have done, but we must go and see the beautiful world.”
“Well, good luck to you, my little nephews; if you still persist in going, I fear you will have a hard time. I never heard anyone who went upon that journey say on their return that they had found the beautiful world.”
The elves smiled when they bade the doctor good-by, for they thought they knew better than he did.