Wilbur liked Charlotte better and better each day. Her campaign against insects seemed sensible and useful. Hardly anybody around the farm had a good word to say for a fly. Flies spent their time pestering others. The cows hated them. The horses detested them. The sheep loathed them. Mr and Mrs Zuckerman were always complaining about them, and putting up screens. Wilbur admired the way Charlotte managed. He was particularly glad the way that she always put her victim to sleep before eating it. 'It's real thoughtful of you to do that, Charlotte,' he said. 'Yes,' she replied in her sweet, musical voice, 'I always give them an anaesthetic so they won't feel pain. It's a little service I throw in.'

From 'Charlotte's Web' by E. B. White. Text copyright © Hamish Hamilton 1952.
Published in Puffin Books 1993