Charlotte's Web Chapter 14 Summary

Dr. Dorian

  • The next day, Fern is washing some dishes after breakfast. And while she's cleaning Fern tells her mom all about Charlotte's stories.
  • Remember how Mrs. Arable thought Fern was a little nuts for thinking animals could talk? Well, Mrs. A hasn't yet changed her tune.
  • Mrs. Arable tells Fern to stop being such a little liar.
  • Once Fern leaves to head to the Zuckerman farm, Mrs. Arable decides she's had enough of this nonsense. She heads out to talk to Dr. Dorian.
  • Dr. Dorian seems like a pretty open-minded fellow. When Mrs. Arable asks for the doctor's opinion on the words in the spider web, the doc says that he's totally fine not knowing how they got there. Come to think of it, he doesn't really understand how spiders make webs in the first place, and he's a-okay with that.
  • Well, no offense to Dr. Dorian, but we like to know these kinds of things.
  • But enough about the web. What Mrs. Arable really wants to know is if Dr. Dorian thinks animals can talk. Surprise: Dr. Dorian sides with Fern. He thinks that maybe animals do talk, and adults just don't pay enough attention to them.
  • Mrs. Arable feels much better about Fern. Plus, the doc thinks Fern will eventually grow out of her obsession with animals and become interested in boys instead. Phew!