When he woke it was late afternoon.
He looked at the egg sac. It was empty. He looked into the air. The balloonists were gone. Then he walked drearily to the doorway, where Charlotte's web used to be. He was standing there, thinking of her, when he heard a small voice. "Salutations!" it said. "I'm up here." "So am I," said another tiny voice. "So am I," said a third voice. "Three of us are staying. We like this place, and we like you." Wilbur looked up. At the top of the doorway three small webs were being constructed. On each web, working busily was one of Charlotte's daughters. "Can I take this to mean," asked Wilbur, "that you have definitely decided to live here in the barn cellar, and that I am going to have three friends?" "You can indeed," said the spiders. "What are your names, please?" asked Wilbur, trembling with joy. "I'll tell you my name," replied the first little spider, "if you'll tell me why you are trembling."