Mistress of the Seam
He went up to Miss Mousie’s bell,
And rang to wake both Heav’n and Hell,
He said, “Miss Mouse, are you within?”
She said, “Aye, Sire, we stitch and spin!"
Kentitrix speaks:
Ah, my MythStitchers, you have arrived, as has Froggy, at the door of a
Shield-Maiden, who answers sweetly, but knows more than she reveals.
As we rejoin the play, our slipp’ry friend is about to ring the bell at that door, and request the innocent hand in marriage of a sweet, modest little mouse, a young lady of virtue and quiet skill, who, in many versions of the song, must ask her Uncle’s permission before she accepts her suitor’s offer. But Uncle Rat, and that permission, are late additions to the nursery fable! They play no part in the primordial telling …
"Beneath my feet, the frosty grass crackled as I stepped upon it. Queen Anne's lace, like a downy white coverlet in the spring, was bare and spikey, tiny sparkling stars borne high above sturdy stems. With a sudden rustle, a little mouse scampered away, bearing a glittering trophy, perhaps for her nest, perhaps for another purpose."
Embroidery Whisperer
As the bell clangs, echoing the warning toll from the watch tower of a city under attack, Miss Mousie summons the protection of the Thread. Like many a wise woman, she knows the power of a gossamer-bearing needle, a needle perhaps fasioned of bone, or even of the strong, fibrous stem of a friendly plant. Such as Poison Hemlock. Hemlock inhabited by one of Arachne’s daughters? For Mousie had said that she is not alone: “WE stitch and spin!”
Perhaps she lowered the drawbridge to her intimidating caller, or mayhap he forced his way in. In either case, Miss Mousie seemed the perfect hostess … to begin with.
Follow to see how this tangled web unravels ...
...Click on Arachne, below, if you dare!
