Webb
Holding a story together by its parts: who and where, the problem, what they tried, how it ended
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Webb is a friendly little spider who spins the most wonderful webs. But Webb's webs aren't just for catching dew — they're for catching stories. Each shiny thread holds one part: here is who and where, here is the problem, here is what they tried, and here, at the end, is how it all turned out. Thread by thread, the whole story hangs together, sparkling.
Webb's friend Bud the bug just heard a wonderful story from Grandpa Beetle. Now Bud wants to tell it to little sister. But when Bud opens his mouth, the story tumbles out all in a jumble — the ending first, then the middle, then a bit that might be from a different story. Bud stops, cheeks warm. "It's all mixed up," Bud says. "I lost it."
"You didn't lose it," says Webb kindly. "It just needs its threads. Let's hang them up, one at a time. First: who was it about, and where were they?" "A lost duckling," says Bud, "by the big pond." "There's your first thread!" says Webb. "Now — what was the problem?" Bud's eyes light up. "The duckling couldn't find its mama!"
One thread at a time, Webb helps Bud hang the story up. The problem... then what the duckling tried (it quacked, it waddled, it asked a turtle)... then how it ended (its mama heard the quack and came running). Now Bud can see the whole thing. Bud turns to little sister and tells it — beginning, middle, end — all in order, all the way through. Little sister claps.
Bud tells it again that night, and again the next day, a little smoother each time. The story doesn't slip away anymore; Bud can hold it and hand it to anyone. A warm, full feeling settles in Bud's chest — the feeling of carrying a whole story inside you and getting to give it away. High above, Webb's web catches the last of the sunset, every thread in its place, humming softly with the story still hanging there.
The StoryPals ensemble
Webb is part of StoryPals's distributed-narrative cast. Each character embodies a different curricular primitive; together they teach the full subject.
