Chapter 22 twenty one.The last day

Charlotte and Wilbur were alone again.Both families went to find Fern.Templeton fell asleep.Wilbur, who had participated in the exciting and tense ceremony, was lying there resting.His medal was still hanging around his neck; his eyes were looking into the corner he could see from where he lay. "Charlotte," said Wilbur after a moment, "why are you so quiet?" "I like to be quiet," she said. "I've always liked quiet." "I know, but you seem a little special today, are you feeling okay?" "Maybe a little tired. But I'm satisfied. Your success in refereeing this morning is, in a small degree, my success. Your future is in no danger. You'll be safe." live with care, Wilbur. Nothing can hurt you now. The autumn will be shorter and colder. The leaves will shake off the trees. Christmas will come, and winter will come Snow. You will live to see that beautiful world of ice and snow, for you mean a lot to Zuckerman, and he will never want to hurt you again. The winter will pass, the days will grow longer, and the meadows and ponds The ice will melt too. The larks will come back to sing and the frogs will wake up and the wind will blow again. All these beautiful sights and all these sweet sounds and all these good smells, It's all waiting to be enjoyed, Wilbur--this lovely world, these precious days..."

Charlotte was silent.Moments later, tears blurred Wilbur's eyes. "Oh, Charlotte," he said. "I remember the day when I first met you, I thought you were a cruel and bloodthirsty animal!" After his mood stabilized, he continued talking. "Why are you doing all this for me?" he asked. "I don't deserve your help. I never did anything for you." "You have always been my friend," replied Charlotte. "This in itself is your greatest help to me. I weave your web because I like you. However, what is the value of life, how can I say it? We are born, we live for a short time, and we die. A spider in It's pointless to spend your life catching and devouring small flying insects. By helping you, I may try to find some value in my life. God knows, everyone has to do something meaningful in life That's all right."

"Oh," said Wilbur. "I'm not very good at talking big things. I can't do it as well as you can. But I say, you've saved me, Charlotte, and I'm glad to give my life for you—I really very willing to." "I'm sure you will. I want to thank you for this selfless friendship." "Charlotte," said Wilbur. "We're going home today. The fair is almost over. Wouldn't it be nice to be back home in the barn cellar with the sheep and the geese? Don't you look forward to going home?" Charlotte was silent for a while.Then she said in a voice so low that Wilbur could hardly hear:

"I'm not going back to the barn," she said. Wilbur jumped up in surprise. "Not going back?" he called. "Charlotte, what are you talking about?" "I'm done," she replied. "I'm going to be dead in a day or two. I don't even have the strength to climb out of the crate now. I doubt I have enough silk in my silk sacs to get me to the surface." Hearing these words, Wilbur was immediately immersed in great pain and sorrow.He writhed in pain and cried out. "Charlotte," he moaned. "Charlotte! My true friend!" "Well, stop shouting," said Charlotte. "Be quiet, Wilbur. Don't cry!"

"But I can't help it," cried Wilbur. "I won't let you die here alone. If you're going to stay here, so am I." "Don't talk nonsense," said Charlotte. "You can't stay here. Zuckerman and Rubi and John Arable and the others are coming back any minute now and they're going to box you up and take you away. Besides, there's no good for you staying here , there will be no one here to feed you. The fair will soon be empty." Wilbur was in a panic.He was running around in circles in the pigsty.Suddenly he remembered something - he thought of the egg sac and the 514 little spiders that would be born next spring.If Charlotte can't go home in the barn, at least he's going to take her children back.

Wilbur rushed to the front of the pigsty.He put his forelegs on the boards and looked around.He saw the Arables and the Zuckermans approaching not far away.He knew he had to act quickly. "Where is Templeton?" he asked. "He's asleep in the corner under the straw," said Charlotte. Wilbur ran over and kicked the mouse up into the sky with his powerful nose. "Templeton!" screamed Wilbur. "Wake up!" The mouse woke up from the sweet dream. It looked dazed at first, but then became angry. "What are you playing a joke on?" he growled. "Can't a mouse squeeze in a little quiet sleep without being roughly kicked into the air?"

"Listen to me!" cried Wilbur. "Charlotte is dying and she has only a short time to live. So she can't come home with us. So I'll have to take her egg sac back with me." But I can't go up, I can't climb. You're the only one who can help me. Wait a second before it's too late, people are coming over - they'll run out of time when they get there. Please, Please, please help me, Templeton, climb up and bring down the egg sac." The mouse yawned.He brushed his beard before looking up at the egg sac. "So!" he said in disgust. "So old Templeton comes to your rescue again, right? Templeton do this, Templeton do that, Templeton please go find me a broken magazine in the dump, Templeton please lend me a rope, I like to weave webs."

"Oh, come on!" said Wilbur. "Go, Templeton!" But the mouse was in no hurry.He began to imitate Wilbur's voice. "So now it's time to go, Templeton, isn't it?" he said. "Ha, ha. I'd like to know, what kind of thanks do I get for giving you so much special service? No one ever gave old Templeton a nice word, except name-calling, sarcastic remarks, and insinuations." .No one ever said a nice word about a mouse." "Templeton," said Wilbur in despair, "if you don't stop your talking and get busy at once, everything will be lost, and I will die of a broken heart, please climb up!"

Templeton instead lay down in the straw.He lazily rested his front paws on the back of his head, raised his legs, with a self-satisfied look that had nothing to do with him. "Die with a broken heart," he parodied. "How touching! Ooh, ooh! I find it's always me who helps you when you're in trouble. But I've never heard of anyone breaking their heart for me. Oh, no one. Who cares Old Templeton?" "Stand up!" screamed Wilbur. "Stop acting like a spoiled child!" Templeton grinned, but lay still. "Who is running to the garbage dump?" he asked. "Why, always old Templeton! Who saved Charlotte's life by running off the Arable boy with that wicked goose egg? Pray for my soul, I believe it is old Templeton did it. Who bit the tip of your tail to get you up this morning when you passed out in front of people? Or old Templeton. It never occurred to you that I was tired of running Do you do me any favors? What do you think I am, a rat servant who does everything?"

Wilbur was desperate.People were coming, but the mice were busy taunting him.Suddenly, he remembered the mouse's love for food. "Templeman," he said, "I will make you a solemn promise. If you will get me Charlotte's egg sacs, from now on whenever Lurvy comes to feed me, I will let you Eat first. I'll let you pick out everything in the trough first, and I won't touch anything in there until you're full." The mouse sat up abruptly. "Really?" he said. "I promise. I cross myself." "Very well, that's a good deal," said the Mouse.He walked to the wall and began to climb up.But there are still many good things in his stomach that he ate yesterday, so he has to complain and slowly pull himself up.He crawled all the way to the egg sac.Charlotte moved aside for him.She was dying, but she still had the strength to move.Then Templeton opened his ugly tusks to bite the strings that bound the sacs to the roof.Wilbur watched from below.

"Be very careful!" he said. "I don't want to hurt any of the eggs." "It's sticking to my mouth," the mouse complained. "It's stickier than gummies." But the rat managed to pull the egg sac down and bring it to the ground and drop it in front of Wilbur.Wilbur breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Templeton," he said. "I'll never forget it as long as I live." "Me too," said the Mouse, picking his teeth. "I feel like I swallowed a spool full of thread. Well, let's go home!" Templeton climbed into the crate and buried himself under the straw.He disappeared just in time.Lurvy and John Arable, Mr. Zuckerman came at that moment, Mrs. Arable and Mrs. Zuckerman, and Fern and Avery.Wilbur had already figured out how to take the oocysts away - there was only one possible way.He carefully swallowed the little thing into his mouth and put it on the tip of his tongue.He remembered what Charlotte had told him - this egg sac was waterproof and strong.But it made his tongue tickle, and his saliva started to flow out.He couldn't say anything at this point, but as he was wheeled into the crate, he glanced up at Charlotte and winked at her.She knew he was saying goodbye to herself in the only way he could.She also knows her children are safe. "Good-bye!" she whispered.Then with what little strength she had left in her body, she swung one front leg at Wilbur. She can no longer move.Charlotte died the next day when the Ferris wheel was taken down, the racehorses were loaded into wagons, and the fairground owners packed up their things and moved out their trailers.The fair was soon forgotten.Those huts and houses had to be left empty and alone.The ground was littered with waste and rubbish like empty bottles.Not a single person, not a single one of the hundreds of people who had attended the exhibition, knew that the big gray spider played one of the most important roles in the exhibition.When she died, no one was by her side.