Superstition
During her stay in England Maria has been struck by the number of superstitions that still exist in the country. Although most people deny that they are superstitious, they often use expressions that are supposed to keep off bad luck, and they frequently avoid doing things that may have bad or evil consequences. One day, when John put his shoes on the kitchen table, there was loud protest from the rest of the family. On another occasion Martha was scolded for putting an umbrella up in the house. And whenever one of them spilt the salt at table, he always picked a few grains and threw them over his left shoulder. Maria has noticed too, that although Mrs. West does not like spiders, she will never kill one, if she finds some in the house, she picks it carefully in a duster and shakes it out through the window. This is not due to her kind nature, because she will kill a fly, a wasp without mercy. She spares the life of the spider because she is superstitious — by doing so she may unexpectedly receive some money.
— There is a story that Jesus was saved by a spider during the Flight into Egypt. The Holy Family had hidden in a cave one night. A spider came and wove a thick web across the entrance. When Herod’s soldiers came along, they saw the unbroken web and thought that no one could have entered the cave for some time. They did not search the cave, and so the spider saved the life of the infant Jesus. A similar story is told about Muhammad, the Prophet, founder of Islam. It is likely that these stories were invented to explain existing superstitions, it is most unlikely that there is any truth in them.
Exercícios
