A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

Overview

The frog discovers a cow belonging to the king that opens its mouth at a spoken request. He enters with a small knife and container, removes fat without injuring the animal, and asks it to open again when he wants to leave. The tale distinguishes this accommodating body from a limitless source: fat returns between visits but is not always as abundant as before. The frog insists that the heart must remain untouched. He invites Spider to share the secret after warning that Spider’s appetite may destroy the arrangement.

Spider first follows the restriction, then returns without his guide and brings his children with larger baskets. Eventually he cuts the forbidden place and the cow dies immediately, trapping him inside because it can no longer open its mouth. He slips out while the entrails are washed, then complains to the king that the workers have splashed dirt on him. Rejecting smaller compensation, he obtains the cow’s limbs and head. On the road he partly buries the head and persuades passing cattle owners to pull it free; when it comes loose, he accuses them of beheading the king’s cow and frightens them into surrendering three live cattle. The closing portion identifies the slaughtered animal as a sacred cow associated with the king’s life. That statement belongs to this particular story; the book does not demonstrate a uniform Sierra Leone cattle cult or establish that the king dies in the episode.

Command-responsive mouthSafe entry into living bodyRenewing internal fatForbidden heartRoyal sacred association
01

Origins & earliest records

Florence M. Cronise gathered the collection through children and adult contacts around Rotifunk; Henry W. Ward arranged its literary presentation. Sobah’s fireside narration is part of that published framing, not independently established individual field testimony.

02

Records & interpretation

Complete Mr. Spider “Pulls” a Supply of Beef, printed pp. 231–238, independently read, including the cow’s repeated opening, renewed fat, death, escape and final sacred-cow explanation.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

  1. 01

    Cunnie Rabbit, Mr. Spider and the Other Beef

    Florence M. Cronise, collector; Henry W. Ward, literary arrangement · 1903

    Mr. Spider “Pulls” a Supply of Beef, pp. 231–238; introduction for collection and literary framing.

  2. 02

    Cunnie Rabbit, Mr. Spider and the Other Beef — Mr. Spider “Pulls” a Supply of Beef

    Florence M. Cronise, collector; Henry W. Ward, arranger · 1903

    London, Swan Sonnenschein & Co.; New York, E. P. Dutton, 1903, visually verified title page. Selected Project Gutenberg 48828 transcription retains printed page markers and exact tale anchors. Preface pp. v–vi credits Cronise with collection and Ward with arrangement/setting; introduction pp. 1–4 describes Rotifunk mission children and adult employees as sources. Frame speakers are not independently verified individual informants. Prefacev–vi and collection-method introduction1–4 independently reread for this batch.

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.

Located primary passages

Specific passages supporting details in this entry, grouped by their published witness.

Cunnie Rabbit, Mr. Spider and the Other Beef — Mr. Spider “Pulls” a Supply of Beef

London, Swan Sonnenschein & Co.; New York, E. P. Dutton, 1903, visually verified title page. Selected Project Gutenberg 48828 transcription retains printed page markers and exact tale anchors. Preface pp. v–vi credits Cronise with collection and Ward with arrangement/setting; introduction pp. 1–4 describes Rotifunk mission children and adult employees as sources. Frame speakers are not independently verified individual informants. Prefacev–vi and collection-method introduction1–4 independently reread for this batch.

  1. A living royal cow permits extraction of replenishing fat until Spider cuts its heart and kills it.

    ChapterVIII, Mr. Spider “Pulls” a Supply of Beef, complete tale, printedpp.231–238

Specific contact-English literary presentation. Preface distinguishes Cronise’s collection from Ward’s arrangement and setting; introduction says mission children/adult employees supplied stories. Sobah and other framing characters are not independently identified oral narrators. No current animal anatomy, universal regional belief, medical method or whole-volume review claimed.

References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

  1. Primary collected tale in a literary frame; digitized public-domain editionCronise and Ward 1903 — the cow’s living interiorResearch access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

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