March 30, 2025 • 24 mins
I hope you like your crawlies creepy, because this week the topic is spiders and their webs!
What's in Geraldine and Kate's happy pants pockets this week? A street directory and a woven strap, like the seatbelt in a car and, oh! A spider web is blocking one of their pockets! They'd better not put their hand in there.
Tune in to find out interesting facts about different spiders, hear a story and some boppy music, plus learn some new big words.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
S1 (00:04):
One, two, three. It's happy pants.
S2 (00:21):
Good day. And welcome to Happy Pants, a show especially
for kids and especially for you. My name is Geraldine.
S3 (00:29):
And my name is Kate. And together, we're your happy
pants team for today.
S2 (00:35):
Today my happy pants are dark purple. This kind of
purple makes me think of the taste of ripe, juicy
mulberries and how it feels to be up high in
the tree. For sting.
S3 (00:48):
Mine are purple to a light, happy kind of purple
that makes me think of the smell of lavender.
S2 (00:55):
I love lavender. I always put a little bag of
dried lavender in the cupboard with the sheets. It makes
them smell so nice.
S3 (01:03):
I love the way I can just brush my hand
through the lavender leaves and get an instant burst of
delicious perfume.
S2 (01:10):
In the olden days, lavender oil was used to help
wounds to heal. And lavender tea was a remedy for
headaches or upset tummies.
S3 (01:21):
However, lavender bush just outside, we could pick some of
the flowers to perfume our Happy Pants headquarters.
S2 (01:27):
Sounds like a plan, Kate. You grab the secateurs and
I'll bring a bucket so we can pop the stems
straight into water. Oh, watch out, Kate, you nearly walked
into that spiderweb.
S3 (01:39):
Oh, no. I saw it a while ago when the
spider was just starting to build it. She's a golden
orb weaver, and they make big webs. The web has
a golden sheen in the sun, and she weaves it
in a neat circle. So that's how she gets her name.
S2 (01:56):
Spiders are ancient creatures. Their ancestors came crawling out of
the sea about 380 80 million years ago, and that's
more than 150 million years before there were any dinosaurs.
S3 (02:11):
Spiders, like insects, have an exoskeleton.
S2 (02:14):
Big word alert. Exoskeleton means their skeleton is on the
outside of their body, not inside like yours.
S3 (02:25):
That's about the only way. They are like insects. Insects
have six legs. Spiders have eight. Insects have three parts
to their body. The head. That's the business end, where
the eyes and jaws are a middle part where the
legs are. That's called the thorax.
S2 (02:43):
Big word alert. That's the bit you call your chest.
S3 (02:49):
The last bit is called the abdomen. It's where all
the digestion and waste disposal happens.
S2 (02:55):
I can see that the spider has only two parts
to her body. Her head and thorax are all in
one piece so her mouth, eyes and all eight legs
are all in the same bit. Her abdomen is that
big round blob hanging on the end.
S3 (03:13):
Eight legs is a lot more to manage, but she
needs them all to help with web weaving and fly catching.
She has eight eyes too, but she can't see very well.
S2 (03:23):
Let's leave her in peace in her neat web and
take this lavender inside. We haven't looked in our happy
pants pockets yet.
S3 (03:31):
We could have a spider sing song while we put
our lavender in a proper vase. Then we can see
what heavy pants has in our pockets.
S2 (05:04):
What did you find in your pockets, Kate?
S3 (05:07):
Just this piece of woven, strap like seat belts in
a car. The other pocket was woven shut with a
big sticky spider web. I'm not going in there.
S2 (05:19):
Well, one of mine had a street directory and another
had a page with all my friends email addresses on it.
And then there was this card with a joke on it.
S3 (05:30):
I like jokes. Go on, read it out.
S2 (05:33):
Okay, you asked for it. Why are spiders computer experts?
S3 (05:41):
I don't know. Why are spiders computer experts?
S2 (05:44):
Because they've been on the web for millions of years.
S3 (05:52):
Actually, they've been around for more than 300 million years.
Spiders were weaving webs 150 million years before there were
any dinosaurs?
S2 (06:02):
Were spiders big hairy monsters back then?
S3 (06:06):
Nah. In fact, the biggest fossil spider ever found is
smaller than the biggest live spider around today. That's the
Goliath spider. And it is huge. If you get dad
to spread his hand out with his fingers stretched as
far as they will go, that's how big the Goliath
spider is. But you don't need to worry. They don't
(06:29):
live in Australia.
S2 (06:32):
I've just found another card. It has pictures of animals
and birds on it. There's a platypus, a Akali, a
duck and a swan.
S3 (06:43):
Well, we know all these pocket things are clues. And
if we put the clues together correctly, we'll be able
to work out what? Happy pants wants us to talk
about today.
S2 (06:53):
So let's think.
S3 (06:56):
Hmm?
S2 (06:57):
Hmm? Anything, Kate.
S3 (07:00):
Let's go through those clues again. Woven strip, street directory
and a joke about spiders and the web.
S2 (07:09):
And there was that list of email addresses and some
pictures of animals and birds. Oh, wait a minute, wait
a minute. All those pictures have the feet colored in
in red, so it's something to do with their feet.
S3 (07:24):
I think we need some brain music to get ourselves moving.
If we exercise our bodies, our brains will be able
to work harder to.
S2 (09:17):
Have you thought yet, Kate?
S3 (09:21):
I'm trying. May I see that card with the animals
and birds, please? I thought so. Ducks and swans are
water birds, so they have webbed feet for swimming.
S2 (09:34):
Well, of course, the platypus and the rakali have webbed feet, too.
S3 (09:39):
But what does a spider, a street directory, a computer
joke and a woven strap have to do with feet?
S2 (09:46):
Well, not feet webs. They all have something to do
with webs.
S3 (09:52):
Aha! Water birds have webbed feet. So did the platypus
and the rakali. A spider spins a web. A computer
lets you use the world Wide Web. And that strap
is a piece of webbing.
S2 (10:08):
How does a street directory and a list of email
addresses fit with webs?
S3 (10:14):
Well, I guess an email address lets you use your
computer to talk to friends. Your friends have friends. So
your circle of friends is a sort of web two.
They're all connected like a woven web.
S2 (10:27):
A street directory is a book with maps and maps
show you where the roads go and how they join up.
Ah that's it. The streets all join up like a web.
A street directory is a web of roads.
S3 (10:42):
I've just thought of something else with webs. But this
creature has webbed fingers instead of webbed toes. Like the ducks.
Can you guess what it is? I'll give you a clue.
It has really, really long fingers. and it can stretch
them way out. There's a thin sheet of skin joining
(11:02):
all the fingers. It uses its webbed fingers as wings.
Got it yet?
S2 (11:09):
Nah. Another clue please.
S3 (11:12):
It's a mammal, and it flies at night.
S2 (11:16):
Is it a bat?
S3 (11:18):
Indeed it is. Now, what other kinds of web can
you think of this webbing? Looks like the seatbelt stuff.
S2 (11:27):
Well, that's woven webbing. It's very strong and it isn't stretchy.
So that kind of webbing is used for things like
parachute harness, climbing equipment, tow ropes. You couldn't have a
trampoline without a big sheet of woven webbing.
S3 (11:44):
But trampolines are stretchy and bouncy. I know because I
can see right over the fence when I bounce on ours.
S2 (11:51):
That's not the webbing stretching. That's all the stretchy springs
around the sides.
S3 (11:57):
Webbing strips are used to make chair seats to your lounge.
Chairs probably have webbing underneath to hold the springs in place.
Funny word webbing. I wonder where it came from.
S2 (12:10):
Well, webbing is the Old English word for weaving. A
person who wove cloth was called a Weber or a Webster.
People back then were often known by the name of
their job, like Jack the Farmer or Joe the Carter.
If you leave out that joining word, you get Jack
Farmer or Joe Carter, or maybe John Webster.
S3 (12:35):
Can you think of anyone you know who has a
family name? That is a job. You could make a
list and add to it every time you find a
new one.
S2 (12:44):
I've just remembered another spider joke.
S3 (12:47):
Go on. I can take it.
S2 (12:50):
What do you get if you cross a spider with sweetcorn?
S3 (12:54):
I don't know, but I'm sure you're going to tell me.
What do you get?
S2 (12:58):
Cobwebs.
S3 (13:02):
Your turn to suffer. What do you get if you
cross a computer with a spider?
S2 (13:09):
Oh. I'll bite. What do you get?
S3 (13:11):
A website?
S2 (13:13):
Oh. I don't mind spiders. Actually, they are really good
at pest control. And although some can give you a
painful bite, none of them bite unless they're threatened. They
bite to defend themselves. Humans aren't suitable spider food anyway.
S3 (13:33):
Even the dreaded redback spider will roll up into a
ball and hope you go away rather than bite you,
unless you sit on it. Of course.
S2 (17:11):
Kate, did you ever have a spider drink when you
were little?
S3 (17:16):
Oh, yes. You never get them nowadays, though I must admit,
they weren't very good for you. Too much sugar. But
we thought they were delicious.
S2 (17:25):
I used to save up some pocket money, and I
was allowed to buy one as a treat when we
went into town. A scoop of ice cream in a
tall glass, some raspberry cool drink poured over it, and
a spoon to slurp it all up. I liked raspberry,
but my sister always went for lemonade.
S3 (17:44):
I could never work out why it was called a
spider though, could you?
S2 (17:48):
I don't think I ever asked. I just enjoyed it
as a special treat.
S3 (17:53):
Talking of spiders. If there were two spiders on the wall,
how many legs would that be altogether?
S2 (18:01):
Spiders have eight legs, so that would be two. Lots
of eight. Eight and eight more makes. 14. 16. Oh.
It's easy.
S3 (18:15):
How about this one? One spider catches three flies and
the other spider catches double that number. How many flies
does the second spider catch?
S2 (18:27):
Well, double means two. Lots of it. One spider caught
three flies and the other doubled that. So that's two.
Lots of three, which makes six flies.
S3 (18:40):
Ah! Brilliant. How many flies were caught all together?
S2 (18:45):
Hmm. The first spider caught three flies and the second
caught six. So that makes three. And six more. So
that nine flies altogether.
S3 (19:01):
Very efficient pest control.
S2 (19:04):
Big word alert. Efficient means quick and well organized.
S3 (19:11):
Our story today is about someone who didn't like spiders
at all.
S2 (19:16):
A spider in the kitchen by Ian Waite. There's a
spider in the kitchen. Lurking just above the clock. My
mother's in her bedroom in a nasty state of shock.
I'm underneath the table, keeping quiet as can be. There's
a spider in the kitchen and he's staring straight at me.
(19:40):
Now the spiders on the window. And he's hanging by
a thread. His legs are long and hairy and his
body's fat and red. I'd like to shake the curtains
to give him quite a scare, but I can't get
near the window while the spider's hanging there. That spider's
in my bedroom, jumping from the chest of drawers. I'm
(20:04):
sure he'd like to get me with his nasty little jaws.
I can't get to my teddy, which is sitting on
my bed. That spider's in my bedroom now. He's on
my teddy's head. The spider's in the pantry just beside
the biscuit tin. I'm hungry for some biscuits, but I'm
(20:28):
terrified of him. If he isn't gone by dinner time,
I'll have to eat my hat. The spider's in the
pantry and he looks bigger than our cat. He's moved
into the bathroom and he's crawling round the wall. I've
got a horrid feeling that he's just about to fall.
(20:50):
I haven't had a shower for a day. Or maybe two.
The spiders in our bathroom and I don't know what
to do. He's even found the lounge and he's hanging
from the light. He crawled in through the air vent
in the middle of the night. I think he's watching
(21:11):
TV because he's staring at the screen. The spiders in
the lounge. And he's looking kind of mean. The spiders
on the bookcase. If you're brave enough to look, you'll
see him sitting there just above my favorite book. I'd
like to do some reading, but I'm too afraid to try.
(21:34):
The spiders on the bookcase. I think I'm going to cry.
Now the spiders in the toilet. He's been there for
a week. My brother's scared silly, and I can hardly speak.
If I could turn the fan on and perhaps he'd
blow away. But the knobs by the light switch. And
(21:57):
the spiders in the way. Now that spider's on the
clothesline near the thing that holds the pegs. He's running
up and down it on his long and hairy legs.
The washing's in the basket and that's where it's going
to stay. The spider's on the clothesline and I wish
he'd go away. And spider likes the garden. He's climbing
(22:22):
up the tree. I can see him in the branches.
Looking scary as can be. My father says not to touch.
Some spiders like to bite. I nod my head and
hold my dad's hand really tight. Now the spider's on
the shed. But this is quite okay. Because my mum
(22:47):
found a book about spiders today. It said there are
a lot of different spiders on this earth, and ours
is a harmless type that has a lot of worth.
So now I'm not scared of the spider on the
wall because he catches dirty flies and I hope he
(23:10):
gets them all.
S3 (23:12):
That was a reading of A spider in the Kitchen
by Ian Waite. The reader was Geraldine. The Phoenix Children's
Library has lots of books just for you, and you
can choose audio, large print, or Braille. Now let's see
what we've done today. We certainly learned a lot about
(23:33):
webs and spiders.
S2 (23:35):
There were three big words. Exoskeleton. That's a skeleton on
the outside instead of inside. Like yours. Thorax where legs
and wings are joined on. And efficient, which means quick
and well organised.
S3 (23:51):
And we had some spider maths.
S2 (23:54):
If there was anything in today's programme about which you
would like to know more, you can find us on
Radio Australia.
S3 (24:04):
Keep wearing those happy pants and we'll catch you next time.
S4 (24:16):
Happy pants is produced on the lands of the Whadjuk
Noongar people. Vision Australia Radio acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander peoples as the first Australians, and the traditional owners
of the land across our working area. We pay our
respects to elders past, present and future in maintaining their cultures,
countries and their spiritual connection to the lands and waters.
Vision Australia Radio acknowledges and respects the genuine diversity and
(24:40):
richness of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples across Australia.
Happy pants has been made possible with the support of
the Community Broadcasting Foundation.
One, two, three. It's happy pants.
S2 (00:21):
Good day. And welcome to Happy Pants, a show especially
for kids and especially for you. My name is Geraldine.
S3 (00:29):
And my name is Kate. And together, we're your happy
pants team for today.
S2 (00:35):
Today my happy pants are dark purple. This kind of
purple makes me think of the taste of ripe, juicy
mulberries and how it feels to be up high in
the tree. For sting.
S3 (00:48):
Mine are purple to a light, happy kind of purple
that makes me think of the smell of lavender.
S2 (00:55):
I love lavender. I always put a little bag of
dried lavender in the cupboard with the sheets. It makes
them smell so nice.
S3 (01:03):
I love the way I can just brush my hand
through the lavender leaves and get an instant burst of
delicious perfume.
S2 (01:10):
In the olden days, lavender oil was used to help
wounds to heal. And lavender tea was a remedy for
headaches or upset tummies.
S3 (01:21):
However, lavender bush just outside, we could pick some of
the flowers to perfume our Happy Pants headquarters.
S2 (01:27):
Sounds like a plan, Kate. You grab the secateurs and
I'll bring a bucket so we can pop the stems
straight into water. Oh, watch out, Kate, you nearly walked
into that spiderweb.
S3 (01:39):
Oh, no. I saw it a while ago when the
spider was just starting to build it. She's a golden
orb weaver, and they make big webs. The web has
a golden sheen in the sun, and she weaves it
in a neat circle. So that's how she gets her name.
S2 (01:56):
Spiders are ancient creatures. Their ancestors came crawling out of
the sea about 380 80 million years ago, and that's
more than 150 million years before there were any dinosaurs.
S3 (02:11):
Spiders, like insects, have an exoskeleton.
S2 (02:14):
Big word alert. Exoskeleton means their skeleton is on the
outside of their body, not inside like yours.
S3 (02:25):
That's about the only way. They are like insects. Insects
have six legs. Spiders have eight. Insects have three parts
to their body. The head. That's the business end, where
the eyes and jaws are a middle part where the
legs are. That's called the thorax.
S2 (02:43):
Big word alert. That's the bit you call your chest.
S3 (02:49):
The last bit is called the abdomen. It's where all
the digestion and waste disposal happens.
S2 (02:55):
I can see that the spider has only two parts
to her body. Her head and thorax are all in
one piece so her mouth, eyes and all eight legs
are all in the same bit. Her abdomen is that
big round blob hanging on the end.
S3 (03:13):
Eight legs is a lot more to manage, but she
needs them all to help with web weaving and fly catching.
She has eight eyes too, but she can't see very well.
S2 (03:23):
Let's leave her in peace in her neat web and
take this lavender inside. We haven't looked in our happy
pants pockets yet.
S3 (03:31):
We could have a spider sing song while we put
our lavender in a proper vase. Then we can see
what heavy pants has in our pockets.
S2 (05:04):
What did you find in your pockets, Kate?
S3 (05:07):
Just this piece of woven, strap like seat belts in
a car. The other pocket was woven shut with a
big sticky spider web. I'm not going in there.
S2 (05:19):
Well, one of mine had a street directory and another
had a page with all my friends email addresses on it.
And then there was this card with a joke on it.
S3 (05:30):
I like jokes. Go on, read it out.
S2 (05:33):
Okay, you asked for it. Why are spiders computer experts?
S3 (05:41):
I don't know. Why are spiders computer experts?
S2 (05:44):
Because they've been on the web for millions of years.
S3 (05:52):
Actually, they've been around for more than 300 million years.
Spiders were weaving webs 150 million years before there were
any dinosaurs?
S2 (06:02):
Were spiders big hairy monsters back then?
S3 (06:06):
Nah. In fact, the biggest fossil spider ever found is
smaller than the biggest live spider around today. That's the
Goliath spider. And it is huge. If you get dad
to spread his hand out with his fingers stretched as
far as they will go, that's how big the Goliath
spider is. But you don't need to worry. They don't
(06:29):
live in Australia.
S2 (06:32):
I've just found another card. It has pictures of animals
and birds on it. There's a platypus, a Akali, a
duck and a swan.
S3 (06:43):
Well, we know all these pocket things are clues. And
if we put the clues together correctly, we'll be able
to work out what? Happy pants wants us to talk
about today.
S2 (06:53):
So let's think.
S3 (06:56):
Hmm?
S2 (06:57):
Hmm? Anything, Kate.
S3 (07:00):
Let's go through those clues again. Woven strip, street directory
and a joke about spiders and the web.
S2 (07:09):
And there was that list of email addresses and some
pictures of animals and birds. Oh, wait a minute, wait
a minute. All those pictures have the feet colored in
in red, so it's something to do with their feet.
S3 (07:24):
I think we need some brain music to get ourselves moving.
If we exercise our bodies, our brains will be able
to work harder to.
S2 (09:17):
Have you thought yet, Kate?
S3 (09:21):
I'm trying. May I see that card with the animals
and birds, please? I thought so. Ducks and swans are
water birds, so they have webbed feet for swimming.
S2 (09:34):
Well, of course, the platypus and the rakali have webbed feet, too.
S3 (09:39):
But what does a spider, a street directory, a computer
joke and a woven strap have to do with feet?
S2 (09:46):
Well, not feet webs. They all have something to do
with webs.
S3 (09:52):
Aha! Water birds have webbed feet. So did the platypus
and the rakali. A spider spins a web. A computer
lets you use the world Wide Web. And that strap
is a piece of webbing.
S2 (10:08):
How does a street directory and a list of email
addresses fit with webs?
S3 (10:14):
Well, I guess an email address lets you use your
computer to talk to friends. Your friends have friends. So
your circle of friends is a sort of web two.
They're all connected like a woven web.
S2 (10:27):
A street directory is a book with maps and maps
show you where the roads go and how they join up.
Ah that's it. The streets all join up like a web.
A street directory is a web of roads.
S3 (10:42):
I've just thought of something else with webs. But this
creature has webbed fingers instead of webbed toes. Like the ducks.
Can you guess what it is? I'll give you a clue.
It has really, really long fingers. and it can stretch
them way out. There's a thin sheet of skin joining
(11:02):
all the fingers. It uses its webbed fingers as wings.
Got it yet?
S2 (11:09):
Nah. Another clue please.
S3 (11:12):
It's a mammal, and it flies at night.
S2 (11:16):
Is it a bat?
S3 (11:18):
Indeed it is. Now, what other kinds of web can
you think of this webbing? Looks like the seatbelt stuff.
S2 (11:27):
Well, that's woven webbing. It's very strong and it isn't stretchy.
So that kind of webbing is used for things like
parachute harness, climbing equipment, tow ropes. You couldn't have a
trampoline without a big sheet of woven webbing.
S3 (11:44):
But trampolines are stretchy and bouncy. I know because I
can see right over the fence when I bounce on ours.
S2 (11:51):
That's not the webbing stretching. That's all the stretchy springs
around the sides.
S3 (11:57):
Webbing strips are used to make chair seats to your lounge.
Chairs probably have webbing underneath to hold the springs in place.
Funny word webbing. I wonder where it came from.
S2 (12:10):
Well, webbing is the Old English word for weaving. A
person who wove cloth was called a Weber or a Webster.
People back then were often known by the name of
their job, like Jack the Farmer or Joe the Carter.
If you leave out that joining word, you get Jack
Farmer or Joe Carter, or maybe John Webster.
S3 (12:35):
Can you think of anyone you know who has a
family name? That is a job. You could make a
list and add to it every time you find a
new one.
S2 (12:44):
I've just remembered another spider joke.
S3 (12:47):
Go on. I can take it.
S2 (12:50):
What do you get if you cross a spider with sweetcorn?
S3 (12:54):
I don't know, but I'm sure you're going to tell me.
What do you get?
S2 (12:58):
Cobwebs.
S3 (13:02):
Your turn to suffer. What do you get if you
cross a computer with a spider?
S2 (13:09):
Oh. I'll bite. What do you get?
S3 (13:11):
A website?
S2 (13:13):
Oh. I don't mind spiders. Actually, they are really good
at pest control. And although some can give you a
painful bite, none of them bite unless they're threatened. They
bite to defend themselves. Humans aren't suitable spider food anyway.
S3 (13:33):
Even the dreaded redback spider will roll up into a
ball and hope you go away rather than bite you,
unless you sit on it. Of course.
S2 (17:11):
Kate, did you ever have a spider drink when you
were little?
S3 (17:16):
Oh, yes. You never get them nowadays, though I must admit,
they weren't very good for you. Too much sugar. But
we thought they were delicious.
S2 (17:25):
I used to save up some pocket money, and I
was allowed to buy one as a treat when we
went into town. A scoop of ice cream in a
tall glass, some raspberry cool drink poured over it, and
a spoon to slurp it all up. I liked raspberry,
but my sister always went for lemonade.
S3 (17:44):
I could never work out why it was called a
spider though, could you?
S2 (17:48):
I don't think I ever asked. I just enjoyed it
as a special treat.
S3 (17:53):
Talking of spiders. If there were two spiders on the wall,
how many legs would that be altogether?
S2 (18:01):
Spiders have eight legs, so that would be two. Lots
of eight. Eight and eight more makes. 14. 16. Oh.
It's easy.
S3 (18:15):
How about this one? One spider catches three flies and
the other spider catches double that number. How many flies
does the second spider catch?
S2 (18:27):
Well, double means two. Lots of it. One spider caught
three flies and the other doubled that. So that's two.
Lots of three, which makes six flies.
S3 (18:40):
Ah! Brilliant. How many flies were caught all together?
S2 (18:45):
Hmm. The first spider caught three flies and the second
caught six. So that makes three. And six more. So
that nine flies altogether.
S3 (19:01):
Very efficient pest control.
S2 (19:04):
Big word alert. Efficient means quick and well organized.
S3 (19:11):
Our story today is about someone who didn't like spiders
at all.
S2 (19:16):
A spider in the kitchen by Ian Waite. There's a
spider in the kitchen. Lurking just above the clock. My
mother's in her bedroom in a nasty state of shock.
I'm underneath the table, keeping quiet as can be. There's
a spider in the kitchen and he's staring straight at me.
(19:40):
Now the spiders on the window. And he's hanging by
a thread. His legs are long and hairy and his
body's fat and red. I'd like to shake the curtains
to give him quite a scare, but I can't get
near the window while the spider's hanging there. That spider's
in my bedroom, jumping from the chest of drawers. I'm
(20:04):
sure he'd like to get me with his nasty little jaws.
I can't get to my teddy, which is sitting on
my bed. That spider's in my bedroom now. He's on
my teddy's head. The spider's in the pantry just beside
the biscuit tin. I'm hungry for some biscuits, but I'm
(20:28):
terrified of him. If he isn't gone by dinner time,
I'll have to eat my hat. The spider's in the
pantry and he looks bigger than our cat. He's moved
into the bathroom and he's crawling round the wall. I've
got a horrid feeling that he's just about to fall.
(20:50):
I haven't had a shower for a day. Or maybe two.
The spiders in our bathroom and I don't know what
to do. He's even found the lounge and he's hanging
from the light. He crawled in through the air vent
in the middle of the night. I think he's watching
(21:11):
TV because he's staring at the screen. The spiders in
the lounge. And he's looking kind of mean. The spiders
on the bookcase. If you're brave enough to look, you'll
see him sitting there just above my favorite book. I'd
like to do some reading, but I'm too afraid to try.
(21:34):
The spiders on the bookcase. I think I'm going to cry.
Now the spiders in the toilet. He's been there for
a week. My brother's scared silly, and I can hardly speak.
If I could turn the fan on and perhaps he'd
blow away. But the knobs by the light switch. And
(21:57):
the spiders in the way. Now that spider's on the
clothesline near the thing that holds the pegs. He's running
up and down it on his long and hairy legs.
The washing's in the basket and that's where it's going
to stay. The spider's on the clothesline and I wish
he'd go away. And spider likes the garden. He's climbing
(22:22):
up the tree. I can see him in the branches.
Looking scary as can be. My father says not to touch.
Some spiders like to bite. I nod my head and
hold my dad's hand really tight. Now the spider's on
the shed. But this is quite okay. Because my mum
(22:47):
found a book about spiders today. It said there are
a lot of different spiders on this earth, and ours
is a harmless type that has a lot of worth.
So now I'm not scared of the spider on the
wall because he catches dirty flies and I hope he
(23:10):
gets them all.
S3 (23:12):
That was a reading of A spider in the Kitchen
by Ian Waite. The reader was Geraldine. The Phoenix Children's
Library has lots of books just for you, and you
can choose audio, large print, or Braille. Now let's see
what we've done today. We certainly learned a lot about
(23:33):
webs and spiders.
S2 (23:35):
There were three big words. Exoskeleton. That's a skeleton on
the outside instead of inside. Like yours. Thorax where legs
and wings are joined on. And efficient, which means quick
and well organised.
S3 (23:51):
And we had some spider maths.
S2 (23:54):
If there was anything in today's programme about which you
would like to know more, you can find us on
Radio Australia.
S3 (24:04):
Keep wearing those happy pants and we'll catch you next time.
S4 (24:16):
Happy pants is produced on the lands of the Whadjuk
Noongar people. Vision Australia Radio acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander peoples as the first Australians, and the traditional owners
of the land across our working area. We pay our
respects to elders past, present and future in maintaining their cultures,
countries and their spiritual connection to the lands and waters.
Vision Australia Radio acknowledges and respects the genuine diversity and
(24:40):
richness of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples across Australia.
Happy pants has been made possible with the support of
the Community Broadcasting Foundation.
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