The Praying Mantis
A female praying mantis is so alluring, living in her island paradise -- a small swamp with so many wonderful plants and flowers around. The female mantis is being courted by so many males of different colors and sizes though she is bigger and heavier than most males. One by one, during autumn or at any time in temperate regions, the males disappear after meeting the coveted one.
One day, a new male was swinging under a leaf and was called by the praying mantis to go down. The male one didn't respond as if he heard nothing. The praying mantis was frustrated and went somewhere else.
The next day, the same male mantis was seen by the praying mantis, calling him again. The male one turned around and asked why the female one is calling him. The female said, "I like you. Don't you find me attractive?..."
The male one replied, "I like you, but I'm childish. I am not fit for you."
The female one was surprised hearing it and laughed.
The male one invited the female one to walk for a while on the ground, shaded with extending low leaves and stems of plants. While walking, the male one was caught by a spider web and can hardly extricate from the thick web. The female one said, "I wish I can help you, but that's the best position I like most so we can be together for a longer time."
Unknown to the female one, the male one has friends in the area who are spiders. The spider webs are traps for burglars and intruders in the area. And the male one happens to be a friend of the leader of the spiders hiding everywhere encompassing the area where the male one was trapped.
Many spiders instantly appeared in the scene, surrounding the two mantises.
The female one hissed, ""What's the meaning of this?... Is this a trap?!"
The leader of the spiders said, "Our friend is the one caught in the web. You better run right now or we will clobber you!"
"Why do I need to run?" asked the female one.
The leader of the spiders replied, "We know that you eat all your lovers whenever you wish to mate with anyone of them. And that is cannibalism!"
The female one quivered, saying, "...I need to do it because it's a biological necessity."
Copyright © Clifford Villalon | Year Posted 2023
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