Sitting down on the bank, he was wondering what he should do when to
his astonishment a small but sharp and disagreeable voice said to him:

"Where are you going, stranger?"

Timtom looked down between his feet and saw a black spider, which sat
on a blade of grass and watched him curiously.

"I am on my way to visit the sorceress Maetta," replied Timtom; "But I
can not get across the River of Needles."

"They are very sharp, and would make a thousand holes through you in an
instant," remarked the spider, thoughtfully. "But perhaps I can help
you. If you are willing to grant me a favor in return, I will gladly
build a bridge, so you may cross the river in safety."

"What is the favor?" he asked.

"I have lost an eye, and you must ask the sorceress to give me a new
one, for I can see but half as well as I could before."

"I will gladly do this for you," said Timtom.

"Very well; then I will build you a bridge," promised the spider; "but
if you have not the eye with you when you return I shall destroy the
bridge, and you will never be able to get home again."

The young man agreed to this, for he was anxious to proceed. So the
spider threw a web across the river, and then another, and another,