The Myth of Wile E

Spider's Block

The spider had finally finished with the gnat, and the web was gone, every scrap of it. There was no sign of a new web for days and days—so long that I thought it was going to stay gone.

It took the spider a very long time to spin his new web. He took all day to string up the guy-lines, and then he rested for another whole day before starting on the spiral part. Maybe he had spider's block. Or else, like me, he just had a hard time getting started on a cold morning.

I should have known the spider wouldn't really give up. Having tasted of success once, it would never quit. And why should it? I mean, what would Wile E. do if he didn't chase the Roadrunner? What would Sisyphus do without his boulder to push around? Sure, it was a burden, but without that boulder, he'd be just another guy, sitting at the bottom of his life, wondering who moved his cheese and what color was his parachute.

And even if he never succeeded, was it all for nothing? Well, think about it. What would Sisyphus do if he did get that boulder over the top of the hill, anyway? Wouldn't he brush off his hands, find himself a steeper, taller mountain . . . and start all over with another rock?