A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.
Overview
When twelve abandoned sisters discover human bones in their benefactor’s forbidden garden, they flee and beg a cow to protect them. It opens its mouth and carries them within it, then encounters the cannibal on its return. At first it denies seeing them; threatened with death, it points out the direction they took. The girls subsequently seek help from an elephant. The cow’s protection therefore includes extraordinary bodily shelter but does not prevent the pursuer from continuing, and the text gives the cow no personal name or further fate.
Origins & earliest records
Historical Laos country within Siam, as identified by the collection
Records & interpretation
Complete relevant narrative and Willis G. Craig’s introduction directly read.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
Laos Folk-Lore of Farther India
II.2, Why the Lip of the Elephant Droops, pp. 29–32
Family & connections
A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.
Primary records and illustrations
Katherine Neville Fleeson, Laos Folk-Lore of Farther India (Fleming H. Revell, 1899)
II.2, Why the Lip of the Elephant Droops. pp. 29–32
Complete narrative and any attached footnote read. Extraordinary anatomy and medicine are narrative elements; unnamed earlier temple book not inspected. No inferred ending beyond printed text.
References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- Historical folktale collectionFleeson (1899), II.2, Why the Lip of the Elephant Droops, pp. 29–32Research access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.