Discovery of the Spiderwok

After returning from one of his trips around the woods yesterday, Otis told me of a discovery he had made. He had been hunting for pine cones - a secret delight of his - and had come across a rather strange creature. This creature wasn't very big, and looked like a spider, except that it had nine legs instead of eight; the ninth leg being underneath the spider's body, instead of on the side.

I have reason to believe Otis is not quite telling the truth, because he then went on to tell me this:

"As I jumped back in shock from this ridiculously strange creature, it too squealed in fright. I mean, just it squealed in fright - I did not squeal, of course. At this point, I waited for it to argue its case, probably thinking it was going to be eaten. And it turned out that this creature was in fact Sarran the third, a distant relative of my fourth cousin once removed. So, of course we got chatting and then, all of a sudden, we heard a big stompeed not too far from us. 'Quick', I shouted to Sarran, 'Jump on my back and I will fly us to safety!'
So Sarran jumped on my back, quick as a flash thanks to his ninth belly leg, and I flew to the top of the tallest tree in the near vicinity. Just in that moment, an army of ants and cockroach and centipedes and caterpillars stormed passed, causing a great deal of noise and mess as they left their mark on the once peaceful woods. Even from where we were, we could hear their angry shouting. 'Vote leaf! Vote leaf!'
Slightly taken aback, Sarran and I quickly discussed what we should do. Unlucky as he was (he'd once mistaken a horn beetle for a fly and nearly choked to death), Sarran's house had been ruined in the stampeed, and so he had nowhere to go and nothing better to do anyway. So we followed the crowd until the came to a clearing, where they stopped and held a meeting. Turns out that the wood authorities are in debate about whether to choose leaf or hay, and of course the little bugs want to choose leaf.
By the time the meeting was over, it was dark and getting cold, so I offered a place to stay for Sarran, and he accepted. So he has made himself a temporary home in the wall outside, and we are discussing our options with the whole leaf hay debate."