The Book of the Dun Cow

Walter Wangerin, Jr.’s book The Book of the Dun Cow (1978) is loosely based on the fable “Chanticleer and the Fox,” adapted from Geoffrey Chaucer’s “The Nun’s Priest’s Tale” in The Canterbury Tales. In this profound fantasy novel, Chauntecleer the Rooster rules over a peaceful kingdom. However, unbeknownst to the animals that live there, Wyrm, an evil monster imprisoned underground, is breaking free. Comedically, The Book of the Dun Cow presents the animals’ clashes in personality and their wit and foibles, but comedy soon becomes horror when Wyrm unleashes his forces of chaos and madness. The book became The New York Times Best Children’s Book of the Year and won a US National Book Award.

The rooster Chauntecleer rules his company of hens and the area surrounding his coop. He is presented as a good ruler, albeit with a somewhat flawed character. He is revealed to be quick to anger and self-important. The novel is set prior to the Book of Genesis, at a time when humans are not yet present upon the earth. The animals have been placed on Earth before humans to protect the world from Wyrm, an ancient and evil creature that is trapped at the earth’s center.

Chauntecleer learns that Ebenezer Rat has been sneaking up to the coop at night and eating the hens’ eggs. He is also trying to get used to a new member of the community, Mundo Cani, a dog that is depressed and constantly cries out in anguish.



Another country lies across the river from Chauntecleer’s kingdom. There, another rooster, Senex, lives. He is characterized as a weak ruler, whose subjects think little of him. Senex is also greatly troubled that he lacks a son. One day, Wyrm speaks to Senex in his dreams, instructing him to put his faith in Wyrm and he will deliver to Senex a son of his own. Senex follows Wyrm’s instructions, and soon, he defies the natural mating order by laying an egg.

When the egg hatches, Cockatrice, a horrible monster, is born. He has the head, legs, and wings of a chicken but the thin, scaly, gray body of a serpent. He murders Senex, taking his kingdom for himself. A toad serves as the speaker for Cockatrice. Cockatrice, an evil tyrant, rapes all the hens he rules so that he can birth an army of basilisks, poisonous snakes he intends to use to crush any animals that oppose his will. Some of the animals escape the land, making it to Chauntecleer’s kingdom, where they attempt to forget the past.

When spring arrives, the animals are filled with joy. Chauntecleer has bred three sons with one of the hens that escaped Cockatrice. Her name is Pertelote. Chauntecleer is struck with prophetic visions about the river beside his land. He dreams of the river rising up and submerging everything in his kingdom. One of God’s messengers, the Dun Cow, comes to Chauntecleer with an enigmatic riddle about how he can defeat the three evils he faces: Cockatrice, the army of basilisks, and Wyrm. When Chauntecleer’s three sons are discovered lying dead by the river, everyone is struck with sorrow. Ebenezer Rat is also found dying with a basilisk in his mouth.



Chauntecleer learns the story of Cockatrice from his wife, and he learns that Cockatrice is making war on the animals to make way for Wyrm. Chauntecleer gathers all the animals in his kingdom. Soon, a wild turkey named Thuringer is attacked and dies from a basilisk’s bite. Mundo Cani saves the rest of the turkeys.

When war breaks out between the animals of the kingdom and the basilisks, the animals, suffering many casualties, purge the land of the snakes. Chauntecleer then puts on war spurs and goes to the battlefield to confront Cockatrice. The battle is bloody, but Chauntecleer is the victor. He throws Cockatrice’s head into the river. Chauntecleer faints from weakness and is brought back to the coop.

A great crack opens in the land, and Wyrm begins to make his way into the world. Inside the coop, Chauntecleer stirs but is delirious from his exhaustion. He sees Mundo Cani and, thinking him a traitor, orders him to leave. The animals all agree that Chauntecleer is acting delusional and that Mundo Cani should not leave. The dog tells them he knows what he must do and leaves the coop.



The other animals are confused, and a delirious Chauntecleer shouts for Wyrm to arise so they may fight. As Wyrm is about to emerge onto the earth, Mundo Cani arrives, holding the horn of the Dun Cow as a weapon. The dog lures Wyrm out with insults, and Wyrm falls for the trick, sticking out his eye so that he can see his opponent. Mundo Cani leaps onto Wyrm’s eye, impaling it with the horn in his mouth. Wyrm falls back into the crack in the earth, and the surrounding area collapses, burying both Wyrm and Mundo Cani.

The animals attempt to return to their normal lives, but Chauntecleer breaks down before his wife. He cries, remembering the final words he spoke to Mundo Cani before he sacrificed himself. His wife comforts him, telling him to honor Mundo Cani and to ask for forgiveness.