Wilbur woke with a hollow feeling, having heard the grown animals whisper about 'a market' and 'a crate.' The barn seemed colder, and the straw felt thin beneath his feet. He asked Charlotte, 'What will happen to me?'

Charlotte did not yet know how to help Wilbur, but she knew she had to try. She decided that 'words' had great power with humans. If she could make people notice something special about Wilbur, they might change their minds.

Charlotte called all the barn animals together for a meeting. The goose suggested the simple word 'some pig.' The sheep mumbled other ideas, while Templeton the rat grumbled about doing anything for free. The animals agreed they needed more than one miracle; they needed people to come and see.

One morning, Lurvy the farmhand stopped dead in his tracks and squinted. 'Look!' he cried. Across Charlotte’s web, in pale silk letters, something glimmered. The words read: SOME PIG. Mr. Zuckerman gaped in amazement. 'Why, that’s some pig!' he declared, and soon people came to look.

Word about the miraculous pig traveled quickly. Neighbors walked over, and children pressed their noses to the fence, eager to see. Wilbur stood a little embarrassed, but very proud. The farm suddenly felt much busier, and trays of delicious treats began to appear by his trough.

Charlotte was not finished with her important work. She spun and re-spun, carefully choosing each strand of silk. Weaving words into her web was slow, exhausting work, and she grew thin with the effort. But her strong will to help Wilbur never wavered.

Soon another morning brought a new surprise. Lurvy read the silk and laughed with delight: TERRIFIC! The word spread like wildfire, with people using it as high praise. Newspapermen murmured and took notes. Wilbur tried to look 'terrific,' though he wasn't quite sure what it meant.

When Charlotte needed more words, she asked Templeton the rat for help. He was only persuaded after the other animals reminded him that Wilbur's continued life meant more leftover slops for him. Grumbling, Templeton agreed to visit the dump to search for useful scraps, driven by his usual greed.

Templeton returned, triumphant with his first find: a torn advertisement that read 'Crunchy.' Charlotte peered at it from her web and frowned. 'No,' she said, 'we must not make him sound appetizing!' Templeton merely shrugged, more interested in the thrill of the hunt than the actual results.

After more rooting around, Templeton returned with another clipping: a detergent box proclaiming 'With New Radiant Action.' Charlotte studied the phrase carefully, tasting the syllables. She wanted people to think of Wilbur in glowing, gentle terms. 'Bring Wilbur out,' she called, feeling satisfied.

Wilbur was summoned and told to behave 'radiant.' He tried his very best—he trotted, he gambolled, and he rolled playfully in the clean straw. The other animals clapped or nodded their approval. Charlotte, satisfied, began the painstaking spinning that would soon place RADIANT across her web.

People now came from even farther away to see the remarkable pig. Reporters and townsfolk whispered excitedly about 'a remarkable pig at Zuckerman's!' Mr. Zuckerman himself basked in all the attention, imagining a prize-winning animal and the fame it would bring to his farm.

Charlotte labored through many nights, weaving her magical words. The strain of her work began to show; she grew paler and moved more slowly. Yet, she never doubted the purpose of her great effort. Wilbur, though he couldn't fully understand her sacrifice, felt only deep gratitude and an aching wish to protect his dear friend.

At dusk, after all the visitors had gone home, Wilbur padded quietly to Charlotte's corner. He thanked her sincerely. 'You have given me a strange and wonderful gift,' he whispered. Charlotte replied with simple honesty: 'Words can make people look twice.'

The web shimmered, now full of meaningful letters. The words already woven had truly changed Wilbur’s life; Charlotte’s grand plan was working beautifully. Yet the future still awaited—the county fair loomed ahead, and Charlotte knew there was one more, very careful word to choose for that important stage.