The Spider and the Fly / Mary Howitt

The Spider and the Fly is a poem by Mary Howitt (1799-1888), published in 1829. The first line of the poem is "'Will you walk into my parlour?' said the Spider to the Fly." The story tells of a cunning Spider who ensnares a naive Fly through the use of seduction and flattery. The poem is a cautionary tale against those who use flattery and charm to disguise their true evil intentions. When Lewis Carroll was readying Alice's Adventures Under Ground for publication he replaced a parody he had made of a negro minstrel song with a parody of Howitt's poem. The "Lobster Quadrille", in Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, is a parody of Howitt's poem (it mimics the meter and rhyme scheme, and parodies the first line, but not the subject matter, of the original).

An illustrated version by Tony DiTerlizzi was a 2003 Caldecott Honor Book.

Cultural influence
The opening line is one of the most recognized and quoted first lines in all of English verse. Often misquoted as "Step into my parlour" or "Come into my parlour", it has become an aphorism, often used to indicate a false offer of help or friendship that is in fact a trap. The line has been used and parodied numerous times in various works of fiction. Paloma: Come into my parlor, said the spider to the fly. Have you ever heard that poem Gibbs?
 * Music
 * English Rock band The Cure make reference to the poem in their 1989 song Lullaby in which Smith whispers an adapted extract from the poem toward the end of the song.
 * Heavy Metal band Heaven & Hell made reference to the poem in their song "Atom & Evil" from the album The Devil You Know. - Lines: I'm here for you, said the spider to the fly. And, Into the parlor came the spider.
 * The Hutchinson Family Singers performed a version of the poem that was adapted to song by Jesse Hutchinson, Jr.
 * 1965 song by The Rolling Stones — One is left wondering: who is the spider, and who is the fly?
 * "Arachnitect": title song for the 2008 album by Kristen Lawrence — Rock song with a harpsichord, electric guitar and bass creating quirky spider sounds as the spider chases the fly
 * Noise-rock band The Paper Chase references the poem in their song, "Said the Spider to the Fly".
 * Film
 * 1923 cartoon: theatrical short by Aesop Fables Studio.
 * 1931 cartoon: Silly Symphonies theatrical animated short by Walt Disney Productions
 * 1949 film: World War I spy mystery with a love triangle, starring Eric Portman, Guy Rolfe & Nadia Gray
 * 2006 film: Animation/Family film directed by Brad Peyton
 * Television
 * On NCIS episode "Spider and the Fly," the poem is mentioned as the last words of Paloma Reynosa.