The Spider and the Swallow

The Spider and the Swallow. A spider was furious with the swallow since the swallow was catching the flies which were the spider's own food. So the spider created a web in the doorway where the swallow was accustomed to fly back and forth. But the swallow just fly right through the net and carried off both the net and the weaver through the air. Then the spider, dangling in the fair and realizing thats he was about to die, said, "This is exactly what I deserve since I thought I could catch such big birds when it's already a big effort for me to catch tiny little insects."

Aranea et Hirundo. Aranea in hirundinem excandescens quae muscas qui suus est cibus capiebat, retia in foribus per quas volitare solebat ut hirundinem caperet suspenderat. Hirundo vero, advolans, retia cum textrice per aera portabat. Tunc Aranea, in aere pendens et se iamiam perituram intelligens, "Quam iuste haec patior," dicebat, "quae, minima volatilia magno labore vix capiens, credidi tam magnas aves posse comprehendere."

Notes. This is Abstemius 4. As usual with Abstemius, it is not found in Perry's inventory although this story of an overly ambitious little creature fits perfectly in the world of Aesop. It's worth nothing also that not only does the spider make an error of scale, thinking that it could catch a bird far bigger than itself, the spider also makes the mistake of not controlling its temper, getting hot with anger, excandescens, when the swallow eats some of its flies.