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The Wonderful Weaver

The young weaver Arachne boasted that she could weave better than Athena, the goddess of weaving. They agreed to a weaving contest with Zeus as the judge. Arachne wove a beautiful cloth but Athena wove pictures in the clouds that amazed everyone. Zeus declared Athena the winner. Ashamed, Arachne cried that she could never weave again. Taking pity, Athena changed Arachne into a spider so she could continue weaving webs. All spiders are said to be descendants of Arachne.

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Priyanka Ahuja
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938 views3 pages

The Wonderful Weaver

The young weaver Arachne boasted that she could weave better than Athena, the goddess of weaving. They agreed to a weaving contest with Zeus as the judge. Arachne wove a beautiful cloth but Athena wove pictures in the clouds that amazed everyone. Zeus declared Athena the winner. Ashamed, Arachne cried that she could never weave again. Taking pity, Athena changed Arachne into a spider so she could continue weaving webs. All spiders are said to be descendants of Arachne.

Uploaded by

Priyanka Ahuja
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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The Wonderful Weaver 

 
Once upon a time there was a
young girl in Greece. Her name
was Arachne. Her face was
pale, but fair, and her eyes were
big and blue. She sat all day
long, spinning and weaving.
And oh, how fine and fair were
the things which she wove on
her loom! The cloth which she
had made was so thin, soft and
bright that men came from all parts of the world to see it.
All this praise made Arachne as proud as a peacock.  “No one can weave
like me!” she boasted. “Even Athena, the queen of air cannot spin and
weave like me. I can teach her a thing or two."
Saying this, she looked up and saw a tall, young woman standing in
front of her. Her face was fair and had sharp, bright eyes.  
"Arachne," said the woman, "I am Athena, the queen of the air, and I
have heard your boast. Do you still think you can spin and weave better
than me?"
"Yes, I am better," said Arachne and she stood up, straight and proud, by
the side of her loom.
This made Athena as angry as a wasp. Athena said, “We will both
weave. We will ask the entire world to come and see us. The great God
Jupiter, who sits in the clouds, shall be the judge. If he says that your
work is best, then I will never weave again. But if I win, then you shall
never weave either. Do you agree to this?"
"I agree," said Arachne.
When the time came for the weaving contest, the entire world was there
to see it. The great Jupiter sat among the clouds and looked on.
Arachne sat under a tree and began to weave. She wove a piece of cloth,
thin and as light as feather. Yet it was so strong. The colors were also
beautiful.
"The girl has a skill, look how beautiful the cloth is" said the people.
Jupiter also nodded.
Then Athena began to weave in the sky. She took the threads from the
sunbeams and the snow and the clouds. She wove pretty pictures of
flowers, gardens, castles and towers, and mountains and rivers.
 People saw it and were filled with wonder and delight. They forgot all
about Arachne’s cloth. Jupiter declared Athena the winner.
Arachne herself was ashamed and afraid when she saw it. She hid her
face in her hands and wept like a child.
"Oh, how can I live," she cried, "now I must never again use a loom or a
spindle!"
Athena took pity on her and said, "I know you will never be happy
unless you can spin and weave, I will give you a new form so that you
can carry on your work.”
Then she touched Arachne with the tip of the spear and changed her into
a spider. The spider ran into a shady place in the grass. Merrily, she
began to spin and weave a beautiful web.
It is said that all the spiders since then are the children of Arachne.
Arachne still lives and spins and weaves. The very next spider that you
see may be her.
Imagine, if you were Athena and you had to turn Arachne into an
animal, which animal or creature would you want to change her into?
Draw that animal or creature.

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