Hag Hideaway

Hag's spider dutifully turned the vellum in the ancient book. A formula Hag uses to feed her spiders to make exceptional silk. Now that cold weather came, each little crevice, nook and cranny had to be filled with spider silk. The attic needed some work and perhaps even the space between the walls might need attention.

Possum Bright, of course, was an absolute staple for good spider silk and Hag had a good supply from the family in our garage. The possum family has lived there for years and years, probably before the house was built in forty-nine.

I run into them now and then. A big slow mother possum who carries her children until old enough to walk on their own. She waddles about caring for all her joeys. I've pulled them out myself from buckets or baskets they fell into. They do like to eat bugs. Tasty fat bugs that help the possum to make Possum Bright.

And Mama has plenty. If a joey becomes ill, Momma lets them suckle a special teat full of Possum Bright. But she does nothing but dote on her children so they are rarely sick.

One of Hags many lizards comes for the Possum Bright. He carefully suckles the teat, after inquiring about Mama's health and that of her children. A treat brought by the lizard's entourage of younger lizards. Tasty potato bugs and fat caterpillars in a tidy basket they carried on their backs was set before Mama. And as the old lizard suckled for Possum Bright, Mama laid on her side and slipped a grasshopper in, with its legs sticking out the side of her mouth. Once the grasshopper was ate, she took a rather large potato bug, sampling the fat body before eating it.

"How is Hag?" Mama asked.

The old lizard raised his head from the teat he suckled to answer, "She's a bit down nowadays. Too much sun is coming in I suppose. It makes her cranky."

Mama grunted, she didn't care much for the sun herself and could understand why it would make anyone cranky and out of sorts. She took a caterpillar next as she eyed a gray moth that looked very good to eat.

"Tell her I hope the Possum Bright helps."

The old lizard didn't bother to answer, and kept at his task. Once he was filled with the the special milk he thanked Mama again and left the basket of bugs for Mama to munch. With care and timing the old lizard deftly scurried back to Hag Hideaway with his crew of younger lizards.

Once inside Hag House, the old lizard went to where Hag stood at the stove. He climbed up Hag's dress and down her sleeve where her hand stirred the spoon and threw up gobs of Possum Bright into the pot.

Hag tickled his chin before he scampered back down to the floor jumping under the stove for a nice warm bake from the oven's bottom. She went back to stirring the brew as spiders began to come out from everywhere.

They jumped and jiggled and did spider dances while the pot stewed until it was ready and Hag took ladles of the ancient concoction and poured them into saucers. The spiders gathered around each saucer and dipped their forelegs into the thick soup and then they cleaned their legs with their mouths before dipping again.

When they had their fill and bellies full for making spider silk they went each to their task to block the cold drafts in Hag Hideaway and make it sound for the winter storms ahead.

Hag laid back down to sleep. She dreamed of heavy rain for the bushes and brambles to once again grow and cover Hag Hideaway. Now that daylight saving time was over, Hag gave a contented sigh and drifted off to sleep listening to thousands of spiders spinning webs of fine spider silk.