Ben and the Spider Gate

Ben loves chatting to his wise gran, playing computer games with his best friend Jess, and helping his dad to train his clever dog Scoot. Best of all though, he likes playing ball in the garden with Scoot.

Then one hot, summer day Ben meets Lox, the gate-keeper of the spider kingdom under the garden hedge. Lox desperately needs Ben’s help before the end of the autumn, but can Ben save the spider kingdom without leaving the garden and going into the deep, dark wood? The leaves are starting to fall, and Ben and Jess must take a brave decision if the spiders are to have a safe winter.

Talking to Gran, Ben begins to suspect that she might know more about his quest than she’s admitting.

Ben threw the ball high in the air and Scoot jumped up after it and then chased it down the garden path. The sun was hot and after a while Scoot lay down in the shade of the garden shed and rested his head on his paws. Ben began to feel sleepy as well and his eyes started to close.

When he opened them again he thought he was still asleep and dreaming. He wasn’t a big boy any more, he was a very little boy. He wasn’t much bigger than one of the daisies that were growing in the grass!