The wind blew gently through the damp trees and clouds moved gracefully across a soft blue sky. The autumn air was clear and light. Here and there little jewels glistened on a leaf, a stem, a blade of grass, and fleeting rainbows danced silently through the dewy forest.
A leaf moved and a spider appeared, before it hung a great sparkling web, heavy with beads of shiny water. The tree-dweller crouched in the well of a leaf. It did not move.
A bird turned slightly and lost height; its wings fanned out to gain the most from the morning breeze. With perfect skill it swooped down to the branch of its choice. In a moment, and without warning, an invisible and unaccountable gust of wind swept up to meet it. The air was sweet and unpredictable.
Twenty feet below, the spider waited by its great twinkling net.
With sudden clumsiness the bird above fought the air current and made the branch between its claws. The bow swayed for an instant and a twig fell free, plummeting helter skelter through the branches below, releasing a shower of fine dew into the morning air.
The web shook violently as it broke the twig’s fall.
The creature’s vigil was also broken, and in one swift movement it was at the base of its trap. Nothing moved. The spider knew that its meal had not yet arrived. The forest was still for endless seconds.
Somewhere above a bird flew out from the tree breaking the spell of silence, and the web spinner crept back to its leaf to wait.
It was just another miracle.