The wishing foxes
By: Margaret Read MacDonald with Jen and Nat Whitman ; illustrated by Kitty Harvill
Contributors: Whitman, Jennifer MacDonald, author; Whitman, Nathaniel Forrest, author; Harvill, Kitty, 1958- illustrator
Edition: First edition.
Publisher: Plum Street Publishers
Published: 2017
Language: eng
Number of pages: 38
ISBN-13: 9781945268014
Subjects: Forest animals; Conduct of life; Folklore; Children's songs; Juvenile fiction; Bullies; Girls; Wells; Wishes; Behavior; Sisters; Kindness; Juvenile literature; Adaptations
Description: In this Appalachian version of The Kind and the Unkind Girls, two sisters--Bess and Tess--are sent by their mother to draw water from the Well-at-the-End-of-the-World. Along the way they meet a bear, a mountain lion, a wild boar, and three little foxes. When Bess greets them with courtesy and respect, the foxes reward her kindness. Tess, greedy for her own bounty, can't be bothered with manners; she bonks the animals with her bucket, kicks them with her boots, and slings the little foxes to the ground. In the end, both sisters get their just deserts.

Presents an Appalachian version of the story of two sisters sent on an errand in which kindness is rewarded.
Notes: When reading the songs of Bess and Tess you can sing it to the tune of "Skip to my Lou."

Includes bibliographical references in: About the story (copyright page). This Appalachian version is changed from the "The heads in the well" which is a subset of the Aarne--Thompson tale type 480 "The kind and the unkind girls."