When Tom Sparrow, shepherd on Outoverdown Farm, finds an abandoned baby boy one night, he and his wife take the child in. Being childless themselves, they love Spider dearly, and when it develops that he is mentally and physically disabled, they love him all the more. Sparrow grows up happy, deeply attuned to the farm life around him and able to communicate with the animals he loves so. His abilities are limited, and school an impossibility, but Major Yorke, the gentleman farmer, finds work for Spider - scaring crows from the newly-planted wheat fields. The farm labourers learn to respect Spider, though the village children are often unkind. Spider himself is happy, knowing no life beyond the farm, but content with his work, his dog, and his talent for wood carving. The time is the 1930s/40s, and the War impinges on those about him, but not Spider. At 16, Spider falls prey to an unsuspected heart condition, and Tom finds him dead in the shelter he uses for his crow starving. This is sad, but not a tragedy. Spider's short life is fulfilled far more than many longer ones. Children reading this remarkable book will learn respect and sympathy for those less able, but will also see Spider as a whole and happy person.