Silk Harvest

"I hate this," Acorn said. He kicked at the walnut armor on the floor. His transparent wings fluttering slowly with his agitation. Acorn was glowing softly red.

"It's not that bad," Stump said. His golden glow was blocked by the bulky armor he wore.
"Besides it's useful."

"Ha!" Acorn said. He didn't want to go harvesting silk. It wasn't fun. Now honey harvesting that was fun. Acorn's head ached at the thought, but he couldn't think of why.

"You're scared!" Stump exclaimed with a laugh. "Acorn's sacred of spiders!"

"I am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not! I'd just rather get honey, is all."

"All you think about is honey." Stump rolled his eyes. He picked up the armor and held it out to Acorn. 

"Fine," Acorn grumbled. The walnut armor, though skillfully carved made Acorn look like a bulky doll. "I hate this."

"You said that already," Stump said.

Acorn chased him out of the burrow and into the glen.

The sun was bright and and the air clear. A gentle breeze made the trees rustle their leaves in song even as the flowers bobbed their heads. It was a day for play, not a day for work. And Acorn felt the worse for it.

Strung between the flowers and bushes, shining like gossamer hung glistening spirals of spider webs. As the flowers bobbed, the webs would bow like a ships sails. And darting here and there among the flowers were bees.

"Bees! We can ditch this and follow them to their for honey," Acorn said. 

"No," said Stump. Stump was Acorn's friend but he was a stick in the mud.

"Fine," Acorn groused.

A matronly sprite flew towards them leading a small group of walnut protected  fellows. She lighted before Acorn. She studied him a moment before giving a heavy sigh. 

She turned to the gathered sprites and waved them close. When everyone was close enough to hear clearly, she said, "Okay, you all know what to do. This is important. Be careful out there."

The sprites all flew off. Acorn moved to jump skyward but the woman stopped him.

"Acorn," she said "Please, no games today. Just be careful."

Acorn stared at her with affronted innocence even as Stump laughed himself silly.

She shook her head and flew up to keep an eye on the proceedings.

"I'm always careful," Acorn said.

This spurned Stump to new levels of mirth.

Acorn took to the air. He could see pairs of sprites throughout the glen busily at work. And on the far side of the glen was the largest spider-web Acorn had ever seen. 

It stretched between two trees and criss-crossed completely blocking the path. It was immense. It was terrifying. It was a tease. Acorn had to harvest it.

"Let's get that one," Acorn said speeding across the glen.

Stump flew after him. "It's too big!" he shouted.

"We can finish sooner that way," Acorn called back.

Acorn hovered before the spider-web. It was larger than he had thought. Quick as thought, he drew his needle sharp sword and sliced free a thread. He caught the free floating thread and began to wind it into a ball. He'd get plenty of silk, and then he could go back to doing what he wanted.

"I don't like this," Stump said. But he darted his own sword out and freed another thread. Soon his own ball of silk was growing.

Acorn's thread shook gently as he wound it. Then it went taunt. Acorn grimaced and worked harder to wind the silk.

"Uh, Acorn," Stump said.

Acorn ignored him. The sooner he finished the sooner he'd get honey.

"Acorn, look down," Stump said.

Acorn looked. Climbing the thread that he was winding was huge black and green spider. Panicked Acorn flew back and forth trying to shake the spider free. 

The spider just clung to the thread and worked it's way steadily towards Acorn.

Acorn screamed and tried to fly straight up. But he hadn't been paying attention and hadn't noticed that the web was now above him. He flew right into the spider's web and was stuck.

Acorn struggled to get free but the more he struggled the faster the web held him.
"Let go!" Shouted Stump. "Let go of the the thread!"

Acorn let go of the ball of silk, before he even realized he still had held it. The ball fell drawing the thread and spider after it.

"Get me off of here," Acorn said.

"I don't know," Stump said flying over. He held his completed ball of silk. He carefully placed it in a bag. "I think you're more useful there. You'll distract the spiders."

"That's not funny," Acorn said.

Laughing Stump cut Acorn loose. Acorn flew a short distance away, turned, and then stuck his tongue out at the spider's web.

Stump flew over to Acorn, and then, while humming innocently, began to pluck the remaining threads from off Acorn.

"What are you doing?" Acorn asked.

"Gathering silk," said Stump with a smile.

"Not funny."

"Yes, it is." Stump flew back to the web and snag another thread. "Come on, we've got to finish."

"Alright," Acorn said. He didn't want to. He'd had a traumatic experience that could only be soothed by the liberal application of honey. He began to gather his own thread.

"Look a spider," said Stump.

Acorn jumped back from the web, releasing his thread to the wind. There was no spider.

"You're never going to finish at this rate," Stump said between laughs. 

Soon enough the web diminished in size and the sprites bags bulged with silk. They returned home to find the matronly sprite waiting for them. She took one look at Acorn and just sighed heavily.

End.