''The King and the Spider'' by James Baldwin

Lesson Plan - Get It!

Audio:

You will create a presentation about a short story, adding great multimedia content and visuals to make your presentation pop!

The story you'll read is about a king, and a very extraordinary one. It's likely that most of the kings you've read about in history and literature were proud, stubborn men. Most would not have used their time and attention to learn an important lesson from a small creature.

But the king of Scotland in the early 1300s was different. Though usually called Robert Bruce, his name is actually Robert the Bruce.

• Why the Bruce?

His ancestors came from Normandy (part of France) and owned a castle known as Bruis, so the family name was de Bruis, meaning from Bruis in French. However, over time, the name became Anglicized (becoming more English than French), and de Bruis became Bruce.

Robert the Bruce was extraordinary because he freed Scotland from English rule and guaranteed its independence from England. He won several battles at first but had a tough time gaining a decisive victory over the English army.

At one point, he seemed to be down and almost defeated. This is the period in which our story takes place.

The King and the Spider by James Baldwin

There was once a king of Scotland whose name was Robert Bruce. He had to be both brave and wise, for the times in which he lived were wild and rude. The King of England was at war with him, and had led a great army into Scotland to drive him out of the land.

Battle after battle had been fought. Six times had Bruce led his brave little army against his foes; and six times had his men been beaten, and driven into flight. At last his army was scattered, and he was forced to hide himself in the woods and in lonely places among the mountains.

One rainy day, Bruce lay on the ground under a rude shed, listening to the patter of the drops on the roof above him. He was tired and sick at heart, and ready to give up all hope. It seemed to him that there was no use for him to try to do anything more.

As he lay thinking, he saw a spider over his head, making ready to weave her web.

He watched her as she toiled slowly and with great care. Six times she tried to throw her frail thread from one beam to another, and six times it fell short.

"Poor thing!" said Bruce. "You, too, know what it is to fail."

But the spider did not lose hope with the sixth failure. With still more care, she made ready to try for the seventh time. Bruce almost forgot his own troubles as he watched her swing herself out upon the slender line. Would she fail again? No! The thread was carried safely to the beam, and fastened there.

"I, too, will try a seventh time!" cried Bruce.

He arose and called his men together. He told them of his plans and sent them out with messages of cheer to his disheartened people. Soon there was an army of brave Scotch men around him. Another battle was fought, and the King of England was glad to go back to his own country.

I have heard it said, that, after that day, no one by the name of Bruce would ever hurt a spider. The lesson which the little creature had taught the king was never forgotten.

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