LITMIR.BIZ

      ‘I’m seeing things,’ he whispered. He dropped to his knees and uttered a short prayer. Then, forgetting all about Wilbur’s breakfast, he walked back to the house and called Mr Zuckerman.

      ‘I think you’d better come down to the pigpen,’ he said.

      ‘What’s the trouble?’ asked Mr Zuckerman. ‘Anything wrong with the pig?’

      ‘No – not exactly,’ said Lurvy. ‘Come and see for yourself.’

      The two men walked silently down to Wilbur’s yard. Lurvy pointed to the spider’s web. ‘Do you see what I see?’ he asked.

      Zuckerman stared at the writing on the web. Then he murmured the words ‘Some pig’. Then he looked at Lurvy. Then they both began to tremble. Charlotte, sleepy after her night’s exertions, smiled as she watched. Wilbur came and stood directly under the web.

      ‘Some pig!’ muttered Lurvy in a low voice.

      ‘Some pig!’ whispered Mr Zuckerman. They stared and stared for a long time at Wilbur. Then they stared at Charlotte.

      ‘You don’t suppose that that spider …’ began Mr Zuckerman – but he shook his head and didn’t finish the sentence. Instead, he walked solemnly back up to the house and spoke to his wife. ‘Edith, something has happened,’ he said, in a weak voice. He went into the living-room and sat down, and Mrs Zuckerman followed.

      ‘I’ve got something to tell you, Edith,’ he said. ‘You better sit down.’

      Mrs Zuckerman sank into a chair. She looked pale and frightened.

      ‘Edith,’ he said, trying to keep his voice steady, ‘I think you had best be told that we have a very unusual pig.’

      A look of complete bewilderment came over Mrs Zuckerman’s face. ‘Homer Zuckerman, what in the world are you talking about?’ she said.

      ‘This is a very serious thing, Edith,’ he replied. ‘Our pig is completely out of the ordinary.’

      ‘What’s unusual about the pig?’ asked Mrs Zuckerman, who was beginning to recover from her scare.

      ‘Well, I don’t really know yet,’ said Mr Zuckerman. ‘But we have received a sign, Edith – a mysterious sign. A miracle has happened on this farm. There is a large spider’s web in the doorway of the barn cellar, right over the pigpen, and when Lurvy went to feed the pig this morning, he noticed the web because it was foggy, and you know how a spider’s web looks very distinct in a fog. And right spang in the middle of the web there were the words “Some pig”. The words were woven right into the web. They were actually part of the web, Edith. I know, because I have been down there and seen them. It says, “Some pig”, just as clear as clear can be. There can be no mistake about it. A miracle has happened and a sign has occurred here on earth, right on our farm, and we have no ordinary pig.’

      ‘Well,’ said Mrs Zuckerman, ‘it seems to me you’re a little off. It seems to me we have no ordinary spider.’

      ‘Oh, no,’ said Zuckerman. ‘It’s the pig that’s unusual. It says so, right there in the middle of the web.’

      ‘Maybe so,’ said Mrs Zuckerman. ‘Just the same, I intend to have a look at that spider.’

      ‘It’s just a common grey spider,’ said Zuckerman.

      They got up, and together they walked down to Wilbur’s yard. ‘You see, Edith? It’s just a common grey spider.’

      Wilbur was pleased to receive so much attention. Lurvy was still standing there, and Mr and Mrs Zuckerman, all three, stood for about an hour, reading the words on the web over and over, and watching Wilbur.

      Charlotte was delighted with the way her trick was working. She sat without moving a muscle, and listened to the conversation of the people. When a small fly blundered into the web, just beyond the word ‘pig’, Charlotte dropped quickly down, rolled the fly up, and carried it out of the way.

      After a while the fog lifted. The web dried off and the words didn’t show up so plainly. The Zuckermans and Lurvy walked back to the house. Just before they left the pigpen, Mr Zuckerman took one last look at Wilbur.

      ‘You know,’ he said, in an important voice, ‘I’ve thought all along that that pig of ours was an extra good one. He’s a solid pig. That pig is as solid as they come. You notice how solid he is around the shoulders, Lurvy?’

      ‘Sure, sure I do,’ said Lurvy. ‘I’ve always noticed that pig. He’s quite a pig.’

      ‘He’s long, and he’s smooth,’ said Zuckerman.

      ‘That’s right,’ agreed Lurvy. ‘He’s as smooth as they come. He’s some pig.’

      When Mr Zuckerman got back to the house, he took off his work clothes and put on his best suit. Then he got into his car and drove to the minister’s house. He stayed for an hour and explained to the minister that a miracle had happened on the farm.

      ‘So far,’ said Zuckerman, ‘only four people on earth know about this miracle – myself, my wife Edith, my hired man Lurvy, and you.’

      ‘Don’t tell anybody else,’ said the minister. ‘We don’t know what it means yet, but perhaps if I give thought to it, I can explain it in my sermon next Sunday. There can be no doubt that you have a most unusual pig. I intend to speak about it in my sermon and point out the fact that this community has been visited with a wondrous animal. By the way, does the pig have a name?’

      ‘Why,

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