“Incy wincy spider crawled across the wall
Incy wincy spider doesn’t care at all
As incy wincy spider know I won’t squash him
Or squish him with a tissue and throw him in the bin.”
Despite being terrified of spiders as a child — and for good reason, living abroad meant we were in contact with monsters that grew to a seemingly unnatural size — as an adult, I have become more tolerant and even, dare I say it, almost best friends with one particular variety of spider.
The dashing and rather well named Zebra Spider. This tiny little fellow is a voracious hunter whose territory is large and all encompassing. They patrol day and night all over the floor, walls, and yes, ceiling, looking for pray and, I am reliably informed, will eat just about anything that moves. Thankfully, that doesn’t include me or mine, otherwise … well, it would be all out war.
I got over my fear of spiders years ago, no thanks to two older brothers who did their best to terrify me almost constantly by capturing and letting lose the biggest spiders they could find, into my bedroom. Usually at night, when I was sleeping.
Why? Well, other than terrifying me and the thrill, I guess the fact I could literally scream the house down for several minutes in a crazed hysteria, till all the offending culprits were squished, or captured and released. And, no matter what punishment was doled out to my brothers, they continued for a number of years.
I got my own revenge when I found out that both were equally terrified of snakes. Over a several month period I captured the odd snake, here and there, and put them in their beds. (Yes, I did make sure they were not poisonous. Of course I did, I didn’t want to kill myself over revenge!)
It was an epic battle of wits between siblings!
Détente eventually followed, I’m not sure why or when. But I’m sure my parents were happy when it did.
Funny thing is, these days I actively encourage Zebra spiders to roam the apartment as champions feasting on all the unwanted insects prone to bringing nasty diseases into our lives.
All hail the Zebra!
𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧
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