Charlotte's Web

Charlotte and Wilbur are left alone in the pigpen for a while, and Wilbur asks Charlotte why she is especially still today. Charlotte explains that she is tired but feels peaceful because Wilbur’s “future is assured” (163). Charlotte sees a bright future ahead for Wilbur and sees his success as her own. Wilbur begins tearing up remembering how he originally thought of Charlotte as “cruel and bloodthirsty” (164) and asks her why she did all this for him. She replies that he has been a friend to her, and that their friendship helped her to lift her life out of the mess it was. Wilbur says he would give his life for Charlotte and expresses his excitement to return to the barn with her. She tells him gravely that she will not be going back and knows that she will die within a day or two. Wilbur bursts into tears at the thought of losing his “true friend” (165). He decides he must at least take her egg sac back with him and begs Templeton to help him get it down. Templeton complains that he is never appreciated, mocking Wilbur’s emotional state. Wilbur promises to give Templeton the first pick of his slops from now on, and Templeton finally agrees to help. Templeton uses his teeth to free the sac and brings it down to Wilbur. Wilbur takes the egg sac on his tongue to keep it safe, says goodbye to Charlotte with a wink, and gets into his crate to return to the farm. Charlotte whispers goodbye to Wilbur, and her wave is the last time she ever moves. Charlotte dies alone in a deserted fairground, and “nobody, of the hundreds of people that had visited the Fair, knew that a grey spider had played the most important part of all” (171).

Wilbur has a “strange homecoming” (172) with the medal and egg sac in tow, and places Charlotte’s egg sac safely in the corner of the barn. The animals are happy to see him, congratulating him on his medal. Wilbur’s worries of being eaten have vanished completely, and he grows unencumbered. He looks at the leftover strands of Charlotte’s web every day, remembering that “no one had ever had such a friend—so affectionate, so loyal, and so skillful” (173). Winter arrives, and Christmas comes and goes. Templeton moves into the barn to be warm and close to the slops, and Templeton grows to the size of a woodchuck. Wilbur watches over the egg sac all winter long, keeping it warm and safe.

Spring finally arrives. New lambs are born, tadpoles hatch, and the goose lays another nine eggs. The remaining strands of Charlotte’s web eventually disappear, and Charlotte’s egg sac hatches. Wilbur watches in admiration as new spiders come out, “exploring their new world” (177). Each looks just like Charlotte, and each one waves at Wilbur gleefully. He says hello to them, introducing himself as an old friend of their mother’s. The spiders grow quickly, spinning their own webs and floating away, just like Charlotte had described. Wilbur panics as they start to drift off, and one of them stops to explain: “we are aeronauts and we are going out into the world to make webs for ourselves […] wherever the wind takes us” (179-80). Wilbur drops down in despair, when suddenly he hears three voices. To his relief, three spiders decide to stay and make their homes in the barn doorway. Wilbur is so happy to find that he is going to have three new friends and begins “trembling with joy” (182). He asks the spiders for their names. The first calls itself Joy, the second calls itself Aranea, after Charlotte’s middle initial, and the third spider lets Wilbur pick her name: Nellie. Wilbur announces his everlasting devotion to the daughters of his dearest friend. As the years pass, Wilbur is never again without friends. Each generation of spiders means new friends for him, even though Fern is growing up and spending much less time at the farm. Wilbur never forgets his dearest friend, Charlotte, though; “she was in a class by herself” (184).