BOOK 1

"DEXTER"

"I wish you'd stop wasting your time and do something worthwhile," Dexter's father often complained.

But his oldest son's reply was just a slight shrug of his shoulders; and if you listened closely, you could hear him say, just under his breath, "What can any spider do that's worthwhile?"

His father would turn red with rage upon hearing these words. It was at this time that Dexter would sneak out of the house, because his ears were extremely sensitive; his whole body would vibrate from the shouting.

And so he would go out to the garden, plop on his favorite blade of grass and proceed to imagine what things he wished he could be. In the midst of his reveries, he could hear the squealing laughter of the other spiders.

How dumb they all are, he thought. Dumb and mean! I may be smaller than they are, but that's no reason to pick on me. Besides, I'm really a very adventurous spider!

One day, as he was pondering this, he heard a loud call for help. Dexter, also being rather courageous by nature, jumped from his blade and scurried toward the sound of the screams. There was a spider dodging the rather large feet of a human. Dexter rushed in, grabbed the slumping body and dragged it out of danger.

But now he was not alone. The silence was broken by deep gasps for air.

Dexter finally caught his breath. "Those dumb humans! Why don't they leave us alone? We certainly don't do them any harm."

"Thanks ever so much for saving my life," the victim said, breathlessly.

Surprised by the sound of a familiar female voice, Dexter jerked his head toward her.

"Oh, my gosh!" He knew this spider—she was the one who stood up to the other spiders when they were taunting him at school a few weeks ago. Three of them cornered him and began shoving him up against his locker. One of the bullies knocked his books out of his arms while the other two got right up in his face and started yelling at him.

"Well if it isn't Dexter ... pee-wee Dexter. So what's going on, Dexter?" A few other spiders walked up and started chanting, "Dexter, dumb, dizzy, daydreamer Dexter!"

"Oh, that's very funny," Dexter replied. As he bent down to pick up his books, he said, rather under his breath, "Go get a life."

"What was that? Oh, I think dumb, dizzy Dexter said, get a life." And with that, one of the spiders kicked him in the rear. "Dumb Dexter ... pee wee Dexter ..."

Their mocking tones made Dexter want to shrivel up and disappear. As he regained his balance, he desperately wanted to punch them all; but he knew the odds were clearly not in his favor ... nor was his size, for that matter.

His anger began to well up; and just as was trying to figure out what to do, he heard a voice ... a girl's voice. "HEY!" She pushed her way through the crowd.

"Excuse me, puhleese!" She elbowed two of the bullies who were taken by surprise at her strength and nearly fell over. "Well, hi there Dexter. Seems like you and I need to get to class before the bell rings."

Dexter knew her name was Lilly—one of the really popular spiders. She was someone he knew only from a distance—the "in" crowd was a group he never aspired to be a part of.

She grabbed Dexter's hand and pulled him past the crowd. Then, she suddenly turned toward the other spiders; and in a very firm but angry voice said, "What's wrong with you, guys? Why would you treat anyone this way?" The crowd began to disband, but she kept talking right into their backs. "I'm ashamed to say I know any of you." As the crowd faded into the long corridor, her voice became more shrill, "If this happens again, I am going to the principal. And I MEAN IT!"

Dexter was so embarrassed that a GIRL was able to shut them up and he wasn't, that he slipped away; so when she turned to talk to him, he was gone. And now, here she was again. Only this time, he had saved HER. He secretly recovered some of his spider male pride.

"Oh my, it's YOU!" she said, surprised.

"Yeah, so what?" he said, puffing up to his chest. She replied, "I've been thinking about you ... about what happened at school a few weeks ago. I hope you told someone ... someone who could keep that from happening again." She glanced at Dexter and she could tell from the look on his face he didn't want to talk with her about the horrible bullying he went through. So, she complied with his unspoken desire to pretend this was their first meeting.

"My name is Lilly," she said quietly.

"I'm Dexter," he replied. He wasn't able to look her in the eyes, so he glanced up at the sky.

"Nice to meet you, and thank you for helping me—that human had pretty big feet!" She tried to make him laugh but didn't succeed.

"No big deal," he said, thinking about how the other spiders called him `pee-wee.' I'm no pee-wee, he smiled to himself. But those big feet were quite intimidating.

The silence between them became uncomfortable. Lilly couldn't stand it anymore. "So, what do you do here on this blade of grass? It seems like you're pretty happy here."

His usual guardedness slipped away, and he blurted out, "Of course I'm happy here ... I hate those other spiders. They think I'm dumb and small and worthless."

He stood up and shook his arms toward the sky. His anger billowed out into the clouds, "They are the ones who are worthless." He paused for a minute to gather his thoughts, and then shouted, "Actually all spiders are worthless!" Dexter began to stomp from one end of the blade to the other. He was stomping and ranting so hard that the blade of grass started to quiver. Lilly began to lose her balance and before she knew it, she fell off the blade and hit the ground hard.

"Omph!"

Dexter hadn't noticed that she was missing. He was yelling up at the clouds. "Dumb, they call me. DUMB! They're the ones that are dumb. They don't even know how worthless and dumb they really are. They fail to realize that all spiders are totally worthless."

"Then I imagine," she shouted, "You think you're totally worthless, too?"

Surprised, he looked down. "Worthless? Definitely not. Often I sit and wonder what I would like to be." He smiled triumphantly.

"Instead of just sitting and ... ?"

"Will you stop shouting and come up here," he interrupted.

Lilly was becoming annoyed at this pompous spider. But she felt sorry for him, too. Memories of that day he was being bullied pierced her heart. Everyone knew he had no friends. Everyone knew he was different. So, she slowly and steadily climbed up the blade and regained her original position.

"What I started to say," she continued, "was instead of just sitting and wondering what it is you would like to be, why don't you BE it?"

Dexter's face lit up. "Why, that's a wonderful idea! I wonder why I never thought of it," he confessed.

"Maybe because you wonder too much," she mumbled, hiding a little smile.

Dexter was so busy thinking of what he'd like to be that he didn't even hear her. His thoughts bumped into each other.

"Quick! Get me some paint! Make sure the colors are bright and beautiful. Meet me back here in an hour." And with that barely out of his mouth, he left.

Dumb Dexter, the Dizzy Dreamer, she thought. But she went in search of some paint, anyway.

When she returned, Dexter was fooling with an odd looking contraption.

"What's that?" she inquired. Dexter was annoyed by her seemingly stupid question. It was perfectly obvious what it was.

"Wings," he said.

"Oh, I see." Only she really didn't

Dexter had taken two rather large leaves and connected them with string.

"Now, give me the paint," he said, rather impatiently. He rhythmically splashed the colors onto the leaves. They came to life, glistening in the sun. Smatterings of gold, orange, brown, and yellow caressed the blades.

"How beautiful they look!" exclaimed Lilly, in spite of the fact that the fumes from the paint tickled her nostrils.

Dexter struggled to fasten the colorful leaves to his body for what seemed like hours.

And then, "Well, I am now a BUTTERFLY!" And with that, he jumped from the blade of grass flapping his wings as hard as he could.

PLOP!

"Doggone it!" Dexter yelled. Disappointment surged up within him.

His disappointment slowly merged into frustration as he inspected his wings to make sure that no damage had been done.

"Why don't you get up high—up there on that tree? Then you'll fly," Lilly offered.

"Okay, here, now you grab this end and I'll take the other end. Come on," he said, impatiently. They struggled to the highest branch of the mighty old oak tree.

There had been times in the journey when Lilly did not think that they would make it; but she soon discovered that when Dexter had his mind made up to do something, he did it. No matter what. Once they got there, Dexter quickly fastened the contraption to his body.

"I AM A BUTTERFLY!" he shouted, and with that he leaped from the branch. The first feeling he had was one of freedom.

He soared and glided and let the wind caress his face. "I am special," he said. Looking toward the grass far below, he thought, how small and unimportant everyone and everything seems.

As he descended, slowly he recognized the Spiderville town square; and he realized that the small moving dots were his fellow spiders.

Then something exploded inside of him. A feeling of triumph!

"YOU DUMB SPIDERS! LOOK! IT'S ME, DEXTER. Here I am, a Butterfly!"

No sooner had he said this then the string became unfastened, the power of the wind ripped the leaves, and Dexter came diving down. He landed right in the middle of the town square. Only the remnants of the butterfly wings remained. His crash landing startled the spiders. They crept up to this strange creature; and once they realized who it was, they began to laugh.

"DUMB DEXTER THE DIZZY DREAMER," they chanted. Fortunately, Dexter was not seriously hurt. Once he came to his senses, he struggled to his legs.

"SHUT UP!" he yelled so loudly that the volume of his voice startled his tormentors to silence. Taking a risk to actually do something, instead of just dreaming about it, infused him with confidence. He put his hands on his hips and looked every one of them in the eye.

"I am not dumb! Nor am I dizzy! Just because I want to be something different, you think I'm crazy. You just sit around doing nothing. You are all very DULL AND BORING. And what makes me sad is that you don't even know it!" The rage burned within him.

Just then Lilly came skipping up the street. She approached Dexter, smiling.

"You did it!" In the midst of the gaping eyes, they made their way slowly through the crowd and returned to their blade of grass. They sat in silence. Lilly didn't have to ask Dexter how his flight was. She could feel it. But she could also feel the disappointment and humiliation, too. Dexter finally broke the silence.

"How I wish I could be a butterfly," he sighed.

"Maybe those wings were just too large and awkward. Why don't you try to be something that has smaller wings?"

A smile sailed across his face. Before she knew it, Dexter jumped from the blade of grass and hollered, "I'll be right back!"

She waited for what seemed an eternity. The sun, tired from its trip across the sky, sank slowly from view. The crickets chirped to one another and the bees went home to deposit their honey.

Lilly's impatience reached its limits; and just as she was ready to leave, a strange creature approached. Her mouth formed a perfect "O" as she gasped.

"Lilly! It's me, Dexter! How do I look?" And there he was. Quite a sight.

"Can you guess what I am?"

Lilly tried desperately to muffle her laughter. "No!"

Well, if she isn't dumb, thought Dexter. "I am a firefly! See, I took two plastic spoons from my mother's kitchen drawer and broke off the handles. These will be my wings. They are much more sturdy than leaves. And this," he pointed to the tiny flashlight strapped to his belly, "is my fire!" He was pleased with his own cleverness. "Well, I'm off!" And with that barely out of his mouth, he strutted, rather awkwardly, toward the old oak tree silhouetted against the evening sky.

Lilly sat back and watched him fade into the night. One thing about Dexter, she thought, he sure is persistent! After several hours had elapsed, Lilly decided to go home. She mumbled, "Who knows when he'll be back, or even if he'll come back." She sighed heavily as she slid down the blade which was now wet with dew.

* * *

Days passed, and just as she decided that she would probably never see him again, Lilly heard from one of the other spiders that Dexter was in the hospital. She was terribly worried and hurried there as quickly as she could. When she walked into his room and saw him, her heart nearly stopped. There he was, all wrapped in gauze, looking like a small snowman.

"Oh, Dexter," she whimpered. His eyes slowly opened. He spoke very softly.

"It was beautiful! I was a firefly for five whole days. I flitted around and shone my flashlight from above as I flew. I saw things I never even knew existed. Dewdrops glistening on rose petals; flowers drifting off to sleep; a colony of ants marching home after a hard day's work; I even saw two earthworms kissing in the farthest corner of a field. Everything worked until one night, as I was skimming through the air, the battery went out in my flashlight. I couldn't see where I was going, and I flew right into a brick building." He sighed, "They say I have been unconscious for days." He looked beaten—shattered. "If only I had real wings—wings that wouldn't give way to the wind. Or a real light—one that didn't need a battery ..." His words trailed off as he fell into a deep sleep. Lilly stood there a long time watching him.

Several weeks later, Lilly and Dexter were sitting quietly on the old blade.

"Dexter, why don't you try to be something that doesn't take wings?"

His face slowly lit up, and he looked like the old Dexter again.

"A flower! I'd love to be a flower!" His heart began to race. "Quick! Go get some glue and meet me back here in an hour."

Lilly returned at the appointed hour with the glue. Dexter was already there fooling with some petals.

"I thought you'd never get here. Now take these petals that I gathered and glue them to my neck. Leave my face to be the center." Lilly did as she was told. When she finished, she stepped back to get the full effect of her work.

"How do I look?" he asked.

"Unusual," she answered.

"Now I've got to climb to the top of that blade of grass over there. That tall one. That will serve as my stem. Once I get up there, I want you to glue some leaves to it. I want everything to be as authentic as possible."

The petals were cumbersome, but Dexter made it to the top. He wriggled around until he felt secure and comfortable. Lilly found some small leaves; and as she glued them to the blade, she looked up at her friend. She smiled to herself and hoped that Dexter would find the happiness he was looking for by being a flower.

"Well, how does it feel to be a flower?" Lilly shouted. Dexter thought how dumb she was.

"How do I know? I've only been up here for a few seconds. Come back tomorrow, and I'll tell you." Lilly did as she was told. As she crept away, she wondered why she put up with Dexter. He really was such a pompous `you know what'!

Dexter felt the warm rays of the sun pounding on his face. The wind gently rustled his petals, and his "stem" swayed in the breeze.

"How beautiful it is to be a flower!" he said, aloud.

Just then, a bee started to buzz around, sniffing at Dexter's face. "Hey," shouted Dexter, "Cut that out or I'll fall." The bee was not used to a flower talking to him in that tone of voice. As a matter of fact, he never had a flower talk to him at all! So, he sniffed around some more. He needed only one more load of pollen before heading home.

"HEY! ARE YOU DEAF? Cut that out!" bellowed Dexter. The bee became very angry with this noisy flower. He became so angry that he stung Dexter.