The Miracle
THE NEXT day was foggy. Everything on
the fann was dripping wet. The grass looked
like a magic carpet. The asparagus patch
looked like a silver forest.
On foggy mornings, Charlotte's web was truly a
thing of beauty. This morning each thin strand was
decorated with dozens of tiny beads of water. The
web glistened in the light and made a pattern of love-
liness and mystery, like a delicate veil. Even Lurvy,
who wasn't panicularly interested in beauty, noticed
the web when he came with the pig's breakfast. He
noted how clearly it showed up and he noted how big
and carefully built it was. And then he took another
look and he saw something that made him set his pail
down. There, in the center of the web, neatly woven
in block letters, was a message. It said:
SOME PIG!
Lurvy felt weak. He brushed his hand across his eyes
and stared harder at Charlotte's web.
"I'm seeing things," he whispered. He dropped to
his knees and uttered a short prayer. Then, forgetting
all about Vilbur's breakfast, he walked back to the
house and called Mr. Zuckerman.
"I think you'd better come down to the pigpen," he
said.
"Vhat's the trouble?" asked Mr. Zuckerman. "Any-
thing wrong with the pig?"
"N-not exactly," said Lurvy. "Come and see for
yourself."
The two men walked silently down to Wilbur's
yard. Lurvy pointed to the spider's web. "Do you see
what I see?" he asked.
Zuckerman stared at the writing on the web. Then
he munnured the words "Some Pig." Then he looked
at Lurvy. Then they both began to tremble. Charlotte,
sleepy after her night's exenions, smiled as she watched.
Wilbur came and stood directly under the web.
"Some pig! " muttered Lurvy in a low voice.
"Some pig! " whispered Mr. Zuckennan. They
stared and stared for a long time at Wilbur. Then they
stared at Charlotte.
"You don't suppose that that spider ... "began
Mr. Zuckennan-but he shook his head and didn't
finish the sentence. Instead, he walked solemnly back
up to the house and spoke to his wife. "Edith, some-
thing has happened," he said, in a weak voice. He
went into the living room and sat down, and Mrs.
Zuckerman followed.
"I've got something to tell you, Edith," he said.
"You better sit down."
Mrs. Zuckennan sank into a chair. She looked pale
and frightened.
"Edith,'' he said, trying to keep his voice steady,
"I think you had best be told that we have a very
unusual pig."
A look of complete bewilderment came over Mrs.
Zuckerman's face. "Homer Zuckerman, what in the
world are you talking about? " she said.
"This is a very serious thing, Edith," he replied.
"Our pig is completely out of the ordinary."
"What's unusual about the pig?" asked Mrs. Zucker-
man, who was beginning to recover from her scare.
"Well, I don't really know yet," said Mr. Zucker-
man. "But we have received a sign, Edith-a myste-
rious sign. A miracle has happened on this farm. There
is a large spider's web in the doorway of the barn
cellar, right over the pigpen, and when Lurvy went to
feed the pig this morning, he noticed the web because
it was foggy, and you know how a spider's web looks
very distinct in a fog. And right spang in the middle
of the web there were the words 'Some Pig.' The words
were woven right into the web. They were actually
part of the web, Edith. I know, because I have been
down there and seen them. It says, 'Some Pig,' just as
clear as clear can be. There can be no mistake about it.
A miracle has happened and a sign has occurred here
on earth, right on our farm, and we have no ordinary
pig."
uw ell," said 1frs. Zuckerman, "it seems to me
you're a little off. It seems to me we have no ordinary
spider.''
"Oh, no," said Zuckerman. "It's the pig that's un-
usual. It says so, right there in the middle of the web."
"Maybe so," said Mrs. Zuckerman. "Just the same,
I intend to have a look at that spider."
"It's just a common grey spider," said Zuckerman.
They got up, and together they walked down to
Wilbur's yard. "You see, Edith? It's just a common
grey spider."
Wilbur was pleased to receive so much attention.
Lurvy was still standing there, and Mr. and Mrs.
Zuckerman, all three, stood for about an hour, reading
the words on the web over and over, and watching
Wilbur.
Charlotte was delighted with the way her trick was
working. She sat without moving a muscle, and lis-
tened to the conversation of the people. When a small
fly blundered into the web, just beyond the word
"pig," Charlotte dropped quickly down, rolled the fly
up, and carried it out of the way.
After a while the fog lifted. The web dried otf and
the words didn't show up so plainly. The Zuckermans
and Lurvy walked back to the house. Just before they
left the pigpen, Mr. Zuckerman took one last look at
Wilbur.
"You know," he said, in an imponant voice, "I've
thought all along that that pig of ours was an extra good
one. He's a solid pig. That pig is as solid as they come.
You notice how solid he is around the shoulders,
Lurvy?"
"Sure. Sure I do," said Lurvy. "I've always noticed
that pig. He's quite a pig."
"He's long, and he's smooth," said Zuckerman.
"That's right," agreed Lurvy. "He's as smooth as
they come. He's some pig."
When Mr. Zuckennan got back to the house, he
took off his work clothes and put on his best suit. Then
he got into his car and drove to the minister's house. He
stayed for an hour and explained to the minister that
a miracle had happened on the farm.
"So far," said Zuckerman, "only four people on
earth know about this miracle-myself, my wife Edith,
my hired man Lurvy, and you."
"Don't tell anybody else," said the minister. "We
don't know what it means yet, but perhaps if I give
thought to it, I can explain it in my sermon next Sun-
day. There can be no doubt that you have a most un-
usual pig. I intend to speak about it in my sermon and
point out the fact that this community has been visited
with a wondrous animal. By the way, does the pig have
a name?"
"Why, yes," said Mr. Zuckerman. "My little niece
calls him Wilbur. She's a rather queer child-full of
notions. She raised the pig on a bottle and I bought
him from her when he was a month old."
He shook hands with the minister, and left.
Secrets are hard to keep. Long before Sunday came,
the news spread all over the county. Everybody knew
that a sign had appeared in a spider's web on the Zuck-
erman place. Everybody knew that the Zuckermans
had a wondrous pig. People came from miles around
to look at Wilbur and to read the words on Charlotte's
web. The Zuckermans' driveway was full of cars and
trucks from morning till night-Fords and Chevvies
and Buick roadmasters and GMC pickups and Plymouths and Studebakers and Packards and De Sotos
with gyromatic transmissions and Oldsmobiles with
rocket engines and Jeep station wagons and Pontiacs.
The news of the wonderful pig spread clear up into
the hills, and farmers came rattling down in buggies
and buckboards, to stand hour after hour at Wilb�'s
pen admiring the miraculous animal. All said they had
never seen such a pig before in their lives.
When Fern told her mother that A very had tried to
hit the Zuckermans' spider with a stick, Mrs. Arable
was so shocked that she sent Avery to bed without any
supper, as punishment.
In the days that followed, Mr. Zuckerman was so
busy entertaining visitors that he neglected his farm
work. He wore his good clothes all the time now-got
right into them when he got up in the morning. Mrs.
Zuckerman prepared special meals for Wilbur. Lurvy
shaved and got a haircut; and his principal farm duty
was to feed the pig while people looked on.
Mr. Zuckerman ordered Lurvy to increase Wilbur's
feedings from three meals a day to four meals a day.
The Zuckermans were so busy with visitors they forgot
about other things on the farm. The blackberries got
ripe, and Mrs. Zuckerman failed to put up any black-
berry jam. The com needed hoeing, and Lurvy didn't
find time to hoe it.
On Sunday the church was full. The minister explained the miracle. He said that the words on the
spider's web proved that human beings must always
be on the watch for the corning of wonders.
All in all, the Zuckennans' pigpen was the center
of attraction. Fern was happy, for she felt that Char-
lotte's trick was working and that Wilbur's life would
be saved. But she found that the bam was not nearly
as pleasant-too many people. She liked it better when
she could be all alone with her friends the animals.