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

Overview

The hunter describes a secret survival sequence to a girl who is actually Elephant in disguise. After the ordinary gun, bow and arrow fail, he can become a dry or dead tree so his quarry will not see him. If that tree is crushed, he can take ant-hill form. He is about to give away the last alternative when his wife interrupts from the corner where she has overheard the conversation. This preserves one undisclosed step, although the first two are already known to the disguised listener.

On the next hunt the missed shot is followed by the transformations he had described. Elephant breaks the tree and ant-hill in turn. The hunter then falls into the water and becomes the creature or thing that turns rapidly on the surface, escaping recognition. The text does not securely name that form here. Survival does not erase the injuries: the hunter's bones are broken, his family carries him home after searching and he remains unable to hunt for the rest of his life. The wife's warning is thus responsible for the final chance to escape, while the transformations themselves remain his own actions.

Dead-tree formAnt-hill formUnnamed turning water formSecret final escapeSurvival with lasting injuries
01

Origins & earliest records

Cronise collected stories in Sierra Leone; Ward arranged them and supplied literary setting for the 1903 volume. This story is placed in the mouth of Sobah in that editorial frame, which does not independently identify a documented field narrator. A later Tremearne comparison quotes the case; the present profile uses the full underlying witness.

02

Records & interpretation

Complete The Man Who Could Not Keep Secrets, pp. 261-263, read to the disabled hunter's remaining life and closing warning. The transformation sequence and elephant antagonist are explicit.

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 - The Man Who Could Not Keep Secrets

    Florence M. Cronise, collection; Henry W. Ward, arrangement and setting · 1903

    Complete tale pp. 261-263; collector/editor roles established in preface.

  2. 02

    Cunnie Rabbit, Mr. Spider and the Other Beef — The Man Who Could Not Keep Secrets

    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 — The Man Who Could Not Keep Secrets

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. The hunter’s third, undisclosed transformation permits survival but does not prevent lasting injury.

    ChapterIX, The Man Who Could Not Keep Secrets, complete tale, printedpp.261–263

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 with literary framingCronise/Ward 1903 - complete secrets taleResearch 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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