King Robert the Bruce of Scotland

Bruce and the spider

After the Scottish defeat at the battle of Falkirk, and then the terrible news of Wallace's execution, Robert the Bruce is said to have been inspired to continue the struggle against the English by the persistence of a spider trying to weave its web. Bruce was hiding out from English pursuers in a cave. He was exhausted from the neverending struggle, and in despair. Maybe he should flee to France and live out his life in comfort. His eye fell on a spider spinning its web. It kept trying to swing across the ceiling, over and over again, until at last it reached the other side and anchored the first strand of the web. "Try, try, and try again". Bruce adopted the same motto and spent the next eight years fighting the English occupiers of Scotland until they were at last driven out.