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Cosmo the poodle was an impeccably groomed dog with a tiny, sophisticated wardrobe. His most treasured item was a gorgeous, striped sun hat with a wide, floppy brim. The problem was, Cosmo insisted on wearing it indoors, everywhere, all the time.

He wore it while sleeping. He wore it while trying to eat his kibble (a tricky maneuver involving tilting his head sharply). He even wore it in the bathtub.

His owner, Mr. Desmond, a slightly bewildered human who ran a small bookstore, finally addressed the issue one afternoon as Cosmo bumped the hat into a precarious tower of poetry books.

"Cosmo, old boy," Mr. Desmond sighed, steadying the books. "Why the hat inside? It's cloudy out. You can barely see!"

Cosmo sat down and, with a very dignified, but muffled bark, pointed a paw at the hat.

Mr. Desmond bent down. "Ah, I see. You're trying to tell me something with your paw-pointing?"

Just then, a tiny, dark object fell from the brim of the hat. It was a single, highly decorative, artificial grape—the kind used to adorn fancy fruit baskets.

A small, agitated, high-pitched voice came from inside the hat. "The grape has escaped! Sound the alarm!"

Mr. Desmond carefully lifted the hat. Perched deep inside the dome, using the plush lining as a tiny, luxurious bed, was a petite, extremely dramatic house spider named Mortimer. Mortimer was using the large hat brim as his own private, quiet, and slightly dark home.

"Mortimer! What are you doing?" Mr. Desmond asked.

"I can't work in the light, sir!" Mortimer declared, shaking his tiny fists. "And this hat is the only place in the whole house where no one ever dusts! It's the perfect, secluded artist's retreat!"

Cosmo whined, nudging the hat. He didn't want the spider's house, he just wanted his hat-pillow back!

Mr. Desmond chuckled. He placed the hat on a high shelf and put a new, unadorned, very soft pillow on the floor for Cosmo. He also promised Mortimer that the high shelf would never be dusted, ensuring the dramatic spider had a new, quiet place for his work.