The Spider

‘Wait for me,’ Corn calls, but she no longer looks up and disappears into one of the many corridors. Corn realizes that he has to chase her, otherwise terrible things can happen. He is afraid she will take off the ring.

Fleurtje roars through the corridors at high speed. Suddenly she sees a hare with her children running undisturbed down the hall and she can barely avoid them.

The mother hare dives into a cove with her offspring, but one of the little ones does not respond and is turned with her back to the oncoming car. Mother hare quickly turns to her child and can pull it in just in time. Mother hare feels the air pressure of the car ripping past.

Fleurtje does not hesitate for a moment and brakes fully. She pauses for a moment. She is deeply ashamed, but then she pushes the wheelchair into reverse and stops in front of Mother hare, who is still looking around, dazed.

‘Sorry, I hate what just happened. I hope you accept my excuse. I am deeply ashamed.’

Mother hare approaches her with big steps and stands proudly in front of her. She puts her front legs deep in the side and makes herself as big as possible.

‘You have to watch out. It is not a greyhound course here. My children are shocked.’

Fleurtje is unable to adopt an attitude and is happy that Corn is suddenly standing next to her.

‘I am sorry. It is my fault what happened here. Fleurtje can’t do anything about it,’ he says.

‘I didn’t think so. I could have known you were involved in all of this,’ replies mother hare.

Fleurtje disagrees with Corn and says that she behaved irresponsibly.

‘No Corn, I should have listened to you. I’m only to blame for this and not you. My behaviour cannot be justified.

Mrs. Hare puts a paw on Fleurtje’s arm and looks at her seriously. ‘I accept your excuse, but I think it is time to start behaving more mature. You cannot linger in anger forever. Life goes on whether you find yourself, pathetic or not.’

Fleurtje promises that she will do her best and mother hare beckons her children that they can continue safely. She turns to Corn for a moment and says, ‘That technical stuff is a shame. You hear a lot more about what just happened Corn,’ and she grumbles with her offspring.

‘You’re right, Corn, I shouldn’t have been driving away like that.’

‘It’s all right. We are all wrong. I should have informed you better and earlier,’ and he kisses her forehead affectionately and hugs her.

Fleurtje quickly forgot about the incident and fully enjoyed Corn’s caress. He is so gentle with her. She doesn’t understand why she has so many feelings for him. It is all so confusing. Suddenly Corn pushes her away and says, ‘Come, we’re looking for a quieter spot,” and quickly jumps onto the back of the car.

Fleurtje moves the car and Corn gives her directions how and where to drive. Then Corn gives her directions on how to manoeuvre the car between two thick tree stumps and then they enter a large room again.

‘Put your car over there,’ and he points to the centre.

She happily does what he asks her and drives there. The car has barely come to a standstill, or something wet falls on the tip of her nose. She looks up and sees snowflakes the size of marbles drifting down.

‘Snow, it’s snowing,’ and she keeps her hands spread up.

‘I knew you’d like that,’ and Corn is glad she can smile again. He runs around the car dancing. Clears his throat and starts singing happily.

‘Snowflakes so big as a giant, fall through a crack on Fleurtje’s nose. But on her tongue, the flakes melt quickly, but what she does not know is that once I will be ……..’

Fleurtje enjoys the flakes, which get bigger and bigger. She does not pay any attention to Corn and certainly does not hear the song, which he is singing for her.

One of the flakes is so big that she gets a shock reaction, and she feels a shiver of fear running through her body. Paralyzed, she remains seated and sees the snowflake getting so big. He comes down swaying, and it even makes her feel a little giddy. With her hands above her head, she tries to catch him. The snow explodes over her head and she is buried under it. She shakes off the snow and makes a snowball from the snow that is fallen on the trade from her wheelchair. A snowball fight follows, and they have such fun that they forget the time. Unexpectedly they are interrupted when they see Trip running out of a corridor. Corn immediately understands that there must be something horrible is going on. He touches Trip and looks at him questioningly.

‘Fred has invaded, Fred the ferret has invaded,’ Trip exclaims. ‘He’s got a child from Fientje, come quickly, Corn.’

He does not hesitate for a moment and runs after Trip. At the scene of the disaster, they just see Fred the ferret dragging a young hare and he disappears around the corner, Corn wants to go, but Trip stops him.

‘We can’t do anything more Corn. It is already too late,’ Trip sadly says.

Fientje and the others are beaten. Tears roll on Fientje’s cheeks and her ears are limp. She holds her other children close to her.

Fleurtje has now also arrived and asks if they have caught the ferret.

Corn stands next to her and tells her they are too late. The little here should be considered as lost, they can do nothing more for it.

When Fleurtje looks at the saddened Fientje, she gets a lump in her throat. She quickly averts her gaze and sees something glistening at the bend where the ferret was last seen. She drives off and, on the floor, she sees a large needle as the size of a sword. Corn runs after her. She asks him to pick up the needle for her. He wants to know what she will do with that thing, but she snaps at him to hurry.

‘Don’t dawdle Corn. Pick it up and give it to me.’

He hesitantly does what he is asked to do and puts the needle on the tray for her. The needle looks dangerous. It is indeed remarkably like a sword. Fleurtje picks it up and feels the point. He is very sharp, and some blood is dripping from her finger. It is sharp, she thinks. Pushes the joystick forward and drives at full speed in the direction where the ferret disappeared. Behind her, she hears Corn screaming that this is not a good idea, but she cannot be stopped and increases the speed as high as possible. She is approaching a corner through which she is racing at full speed. The car hangs dangerously at an angle, but bravely she persists. Then the ferret suddenly appears in front of her. She overcomes her fear and enormous anger takes its place. The ferret thinks he is safe and is dragging the hare through the deserted hallway.

So, now we have food for a few days. How proud will be my wife of me, he praises himself. Then he sharps up his ears. ‘I sure I hear something,’ he whispers. Suddenly he sees Fleurtje’ in her wheelchair and she comes straight up to him. What the hell is this. I see this well, he thinks. He understands that the battle has not yet been fought and that he does not just come out of the camel hill with his booty. So, he chooses the attack. He runs towards the car with the squeaky youngster in his paw and shouts, ‘Go back while you still can.’

Fleurtje has no intention of yielding to him and drives towards him without slowing down.

‘You will not like it, child. I crush you and eat you without chewing,’ he screams.

He counterattacks and continues to drag the young with him.

Fleurtje sees it happening and feels sorry for the poor youngster. She clutches the needle even more firmly in her hand and rushes towards the ferret. They rush at each other at full speed.

Fleurtje is not aware that the ferret can kill her with one blow of his leg, but she wouldn’t even care at the moment. All she wants is to save the young.

The ferret approaches her, and she sees him getting bigger and bigger. Now she has to stop her car and sees the ferret is approaching her. He has no intention of giving up. He will fight, that’s for sure. What does that human child think, he thinks furiously?

‘Bring it on if you dare,’ Fleurtje shouts at the ferret.

The ferret is only a few meters away from her. Then she hears the young cray for help, and she understands that she must act quickly otherwise everything has been in vain. She should be able to save that young, but the ferret has no intention of giving up its prey just like that.

The ferret comes to Fleurtje and raises his paw and hit her on top of her head. That is the moment she’s been waiting for. With one hand she holds the needle straight in front of her and with the other hand, she controls the joystick. At full speed, she rushes at the ferret and when he is within her reach, she inserts the needle deep into his paw. In terror and pain, he screams it out but doesn’t let go of the youngster. Once again, Fleurtje stabs him in the leg, but he still holds the here. For a moment he lets go, but then quickly he grabs the hereby his ears and turns around and run away. For a moment, Fleurtje thinks she’s lost the fight, but then she sticks the needle deep in his ass. The ferret screams it out in pain and Fleurtje shouts: ‘If you don’t release the here immediately, I’ll stab you again’ she screams furiously.

Not because of her threat but from the pain he lets go of the young here, who is frozen from fear. This is the opportunity Fleurtje was waiting for. She wants to drive to the here, but her car sputters a bit. For a moment, she stands still and then tries again. Those few seconds seem to last centuries, but finally, the car listens to her again. She puts it in reverse and then forwards. She hits the ferret, which becomes unbalanced and falls on the ground in front of her. Fleurtje pulls the needle out of his ass and sticks it in his shoulders a few more times.  All she wants is that she wounded him so badly that he can’t follow them anymore.

Fred the ferret understands that he is lost and defeated, and stumbling he drips his tail between his paws.

In the meantime, the others have arrived and look proudly how Fleurtje defends himself and the young here. They see Fred the ferret is walking away and a general cheer break lose. Wappert and Corn are walking to the young here, that still lies against a tree trunk.

‘I think he’s still alive,’ Fleurtje whispers.

Wappert and Corn bend over the injured here and see that she is gravely wounded.

‘Is it bad,’ Fleurtje asks impatiently? ‘Will it live?’ Yes, right? Please, say something?’

‘I don’t no. She’s alive, but we have to take it straight to her mother,’ Wappert replies.

‘Put her on the blade of my car, and we’ll drive her to her mother as soon as we can.’

When Fientje sees them coming, she looks strangely, and her gaze falls on her child lying gravely injured on the blade. Even when she sees that her little one is in such bad shape; her heart makes a joy leap. After all, she had already given up all hope. ‘Be careful with her,’ she shouts worriedly.

‘Of course,’ Whispers Wappert.

‘We can’t stay here. Let us go inside so that I can take care of her,’ says mother.

The injured here is placed in a corner and mother hare carefully takes care of her wounds.

Meanwhile, father ensures that the other little ones stay out of the way. The little one now needs all the rest and care she can get from her mother. For the whole family, it will be anxious hours and together they hope that the little one recovers well.

Fleurtje takes some distance and watches how the mother lovingly takes care of her little one. She understands all too well that she can’t get involved in this. By now everyone is informed, and they come to see how it is with the young here. They all hope the little one makes it.

Corn climbs back on the back of the wheelchair and says, ‘That’s how it is here. One particular beep and the whole Camel Hill knows what’s going on. Let’s drive to a quieter spot. It’s getting really full now, isn’t it? They’ll make it, even without us,’ Corn suggested.

She looks around and replies, ‘I can’t get through this without making lumps.’

He understands her and whistles on his nails. The animals jump to the side so that the road is cleared and Fleurtje can drive away. They just saw father hare push the other little ones close to him and greet her kindly. Fleurtje manoeuvres her car through the crowd and they are applauding for her, which gives her a nice feeling. She’s so happy that she was able to do something for the animals.

They don’t talk much on the way. Corn shows her the way and so they drive deeper and deeper into the Camel Hill.

‘Corn. How far is it?’

‘Not far, you can turn leftover there.’

She skillfully turns the car around the crook and not much further Corn says that she can stop.  He gets off and stands in front of her. Suddenly he starts yawning.

‘Do you have sleep Corn?’

He nods fleetingly, turns around and walks away from her.

She asks where he is going to, but he doesn’t listen anymore.

Mother soul alone she looks around. It’s cold and she doesn’t understand why Corn disappeared so suddenly. He doesn’t answer when she keeps calling him and then she panics and starts screaming and crying. Fleurtje doesn’t see him staggering to a corner and lowering himself on the ground behind a tree trunk. Then she suddenly feels something hairy on her hand and pull him back frightened but breathes a relieved breath when she recognizes Trip.

‘We need to find Corn. Maybe something happened to him,’ and she grabbed his paw.

Trip puts his paw on hers and whispers, ‘We can’t help Corn anymore, it’s nature.’ He looks at her and sees the fear in her eyes. A few times she sobs and then get rid of him.

‘And that doesn’t bother you. Is this fair, don’t you mourn,’ she shouts.

‘Mourn. What do you mean,’ Trip asks, wiping a tear from her cheek?

‘If someone dies with us, we mourn for the loss of that person.’

Trip starts laughing hard and holds his dog belly tightly. He rolls from fun over the ground and occasionally he hits the ground with his paw.

Dismayed by his behaviour, she turns her car around and drives away from him.

Trip immediately stops laughing and runs after her. Jumps dangerously in front of the moving car and forces her to stop.

‘Let me go through it rotten dog. At first, I thought you’d be nice, but I was wrong about that,’ Fleurtje shout. 

Trip is waiting for her to calm down. Then he looks at her with a crooked head and ask:

‘Can I please defend myself? For a moment I let go of myself. It’s not what you think.’

‘Go ahead and do it. I don’t believe you anymore,’ and she insists that he brings her back to her Grandma’s.

‘Can I,’ he asks again.

‘Okay, I’m listening.’

‘First, my apology, and secondly, you misunderstood me. It’s snowing outside and then Corn is going to be overwhelmed by sleep or fatigue, I don’t know exactly. Corn must then find a place to sleep and then he literally and figuratively falls asleep. He just needs to rest.’

Now Fleurtje is ashamed and admits that she has overreacted. She takes his head between her hands and gives him a hug on his wet nose. ‘I’m so sorry. I reacted too quickly. I have to stop doing that. I’m a bit cocky sometimes.’

Trip looks at her and decides it’s wise not to answer that. She’s a little cocky, but he doesn’t know why she does that. I’m sure there’s a reason why she reacts this way, he thinks wisely.

‘Can we wait for Corn,’ asks Fleurtje.

‘Let’s get out of here and let him sleep peacefully. He doesn’t wake up until he gets hungry,’ Trip replies.

‘Please, let me wait for him. I’m patient. Don’t give Trip.’

‘Even when you’d have to wait for weeks,’ asks Trip.

She puts her hand in front of her mouth and thinks. That is a bit long.

‘Where are we going to trip?’

‘You’ll see. It’s going to be a surprise,’ and he’s glad he calmed her down.

Nervously, he looks around and analyzes every sound he hears. What Fleurtje doesn’t know is that the environment, where they are now, is not safe. They are just outside the camel hill and there their enemies have free reign to invade. He tells her and immediately tells her that as long as she’s with him, she doesn’t have to be afraid.

Along the way, they come across a pack of wolves. Trip stops and talks to them. Fleurtje counts how many there are. One, two three, four. There are eight or nine of them. No, 10, she thinks.

‘I’ll keep an eye on things,’ she hears one of the wolves said. I’ll keep Cherry up to date on this. Don’t be afraid of…, my friend.’

Trip walks back to Fleurtje and tells her that the wolves look dangerous, but that most of them were born in the camel hill and they are good end reliable friends of his.

They continue their way and arrive at a narrow passage. Trip opens the door and then she looks in a dark hole.

‘Drive-in that hole,’ Trip whispers. ‘But, be careful.’

Anxiously, Fleurtje slowly drives her wheelchair into the dark and calls Trip.

‘Drive straight ahead, nothing can happen to you,’ he replies.

Then he finally yells, ‘Stop.’

Fleurtje immediately stops her wheelchair and waits impatiently. She cannot see Trip anywhere.

Suddenly, space is illuminated dazzlingly. A sea of coloured lights can be seen, and she hears cheers and there is chanting’: “Long will she live,” they are singing. She is completely out of her mind and carefully watching the spectacle. Trip gets closer to her and asks what she is thinking.

‘What does this mean, Trip?’

‘Everyone who comes visit us gets such a heartfelt greeting. We’ve done our best for you.’

Al animals dance jump and are singing. Soon there comes a smile around Fleurtje’s mouth. She’s visibly enjoying it and listens to the singing that looks a lot like a bunch of cackling chickens, but she loves it.

Suddenly a little here is put on the blade of her wheelchair. A tiny voice tells her that Fleurtje saved her from the clutches of the ferret.

‘I brought for you the best carrot I could find,’ says the hare.

‘The ferret did hurt me, but according to Mommy, I got off well. All I left is a wound on my ear. Look at it, and she shows Fleurtje the wound on her ear. ‘Mommy says you’re a hero and I wouldn’t have made it without you.’

Shyly, the youngster gives the carrot to Fleurtje, who kindly thanks her for it and tells her that she is very happy that her injuries are not serious. The hare child jumps off the blade and ends up in her mother’s arms.

The animals continue to dance and party incessantly and when Trip for a moment doesn’t keep an eye on Fleurtje she turns her wheelchair around and drives back to the hallway. She stands there and looks if there is someone who can help her, but there is no one to see.

She decides to go looking for Corn on her own.

Her mind keeps going back to Corn and she feels lonely. At every corner she passes, she calls out his name, ‘Corn, where are you.’

She is completely unaware of the fact that it could be dangerous, so all alone. Then suddenly she understands that she is lost and that it wasn’t a good idea to look for him.

In the middle of the intersection, she stops her car. The silence is disturbed by the crackle of tree stumps and she hears a strange hum. Anxiously, she decides to return, but each time she returns to the same intersection. Through the many corridors, she always drives around in circles. Strange noises reverberate through the corridors and she is aware that she should have listened to Trip. He told her to stay with him. She starts crying and, in a panic, she goes even faster from one corridor to another.

‘Grandma, Mommy, please help me. I will be obedient for the rest of my life,’ and the tears rolling down her cheeks.

Suddenly she hears a familiar sound and stops her car. She recognizes the sound, but she can’t tell what it is. It’s a kind of whispering of the wind being blown down the hallway. She doesn’t realize she’s facing the danger. She decides to turn on the headlights that the animals have mounted in front of her car. The light spreads and shows a large gaping hole. Somehow, she feels like she’s been being followed for a while. She’s wary and waits the right time to strike. Sighing deeply, she tries to think and drives calmly through the corridors until she reaches a point she recognizes. ‘Now I remember. That’s the way I’m going to, gee, you’re so smart,’ she praises herself.

Carefully she drives her wheelchair to the place where she almost certainly knows that Corn must be there. Finally, she recognizes the tree stump and sees that Corn is still sleeping. He lies curled up with his head tucked between his long tail. For a moment she tends to wake him up, but then she changes her mind. It is better that he sleeps peacefully, she thinks.

She drives the wheelchair between two tree stumps and looks up. Long thick roots rise and intertwine and between the roots, she sees that the light of the moon partly illuminates the space. The cold wind blows through the crack and she hears a singing sound. It is cold in the corridor and she shivers. The moonlight is fascinating, and she does not see that a huge thick black hairy spider is coming at her. Every now and then a cloud slides in front of the moon and the space becomes dark. Then her eyes must get used to the dark, but when the cloud passes by again, she takes a sigh of relief and enjoys the beautiful moon again.

Behind her, thin spidery spun threads fall one by one. At the end of the thread, the water droplets shine like small diamonds in the light of the moon, but Fleurtje does not see them. When the moon has been hiding behind a cloud for a while, she feels that her neck feels a little painful from looking up. She gazes to the place where Corn is sleeping and wonders when he wakes up. In the meanwhile, the spider spins diligently. Now and then he stops to see which direction to spin the next wire. It is a hell of a job, but he sees that his prey is almost within reach.

Fleurtje has no notice of what is going on above her. Then the moon reappears, and she decides to drive back to the exit. She turns her car, but it is already too late. The spider strikes. Curves his legs and drops on top of her head. He has her in such a grip that Fleurtje cannot move. He quickly spins the sticky threads around her body and her head, so that she can no longer cry for help. He knows no compassion and ties her in like a cocoon.

Ultimately, she is tired of fighting and has to stop her resistance. the spider continues steadily and pulls her up in his web. When he is satisfied, he laughs slyly and says: ‘So girl, that was quite a job. You’re lucky I just ate. Later when I get hungry you will be my tastiest meal, which I have ever eaten. Enjoy the surroundings for a while,’ and it disappears into the night.

Fleurtje tries to wriggle the threads from her body, but she doesn’t succeed.  Through one of the wires, she sees that it is outside very dark. She hopes that the moon will shine his light in, but that hope soon fades. Now and then the cocoon turns around its axis and then she can see the other side. In between the cracks she recognizes, Grandma’s house. The veranda doors are closed but the light in the living room is on.

Grandma, please take me out of here, she wants to shout, but she can’t produce more than a beep. Exhausted, she falls asleep sobbing and dreams that she is back at home with her mother.

There is everything the same. Nothing has changed, also at school is nothing changed. They still didn’t like her and scold to her. She is so angry that she attacks the children. The master takes them apart. He is also angry with her and for punishment, she is not allowed to come to school for a while. They call it suspended and she doesn’t understand it.  What’s the point of school if she’s bullied like that and she can’t defend herself?

The end of Part 4