Arthur Applebee asked a group of pre-school children to tell him the characters of a list of animals. They were more certain of the stereotypical personalities of animals they could only have met in stories, such as brave lions or sly foxes, than of the characters of dogs or cats, where experience of specific dogs and cats came in to complicate the picture. Story characteristics are prepared for reception, so to speak; they’re consistent, they don’t contradict themselves, and they’re dispensed at the pace that understanding demands.
The Child That Books Built, Frances Spufford
Reynard the Fox by Wilhelm Von Kaulbach
But the sly characteristic of the fox is sometimes inverted for comic effect. The following is from an earlier time, obviously:
During the Middle Ages, foxes were a widely recognised symbol for the devil. This reputation hung around for a very long time. The following book, Mister Fox, was published in the 1870s.
Pekkon by Kyoko Orimo 1978Pekkon by Kyoko Orimo 1978Dullwit The Dumb Fox from Adventures In Wonderland April 1955The Fox Jumps Over The Parson’s Gate by Randolph Caldecott 1882 coverBeatrix Potter foxArtuš Scheiner (1863-1938), Czech Fairytales 1926Harry McNaught (1923 – 2020) Animal BabiesNiroot Puttapipat – The Red Fairy Book山口 華楊, Yamaguchi Kayō, (1899–16 March 1984)The Cunning Little Vixen by Rudolf TesnohlidekMilo Winter (1888-1956)Hunting & Fishing Magazine December 1937 fox illustration by Jacob Bates Abbott-foxCountry Home Magazine, October 1937, Basset Hound and Fox on CoverLore PembertonPerson Dressed Up as a Fox, Johannes Hendrikus Antonius Maria Lutz, 1907 – 1916Donald Chaffin, Fantastic Mr. Fox, 1970Yuri Vasnetsov, 1968, RussianThe Three Foxes – A. A. Milne Illustrator Boris KalaushinWhy does the fox have a fluffy tail? Karelian folk tale Illustrator L. Korostyshevsky, 1960sFox by Janusz Grabianski (1929 -1976)Evgenii RatchevWiping dishes for a fox. From The House of the Red Fox by Miriam Byrne and illustrated by Anna Milo Upjohn, 1907Celia HartThanh PortalMeg HuntMeg ParkChiara ArmelliniSarah MaycockBecca StadtlanderVictoria SemykinaAmy HamiltonRon BrooksMary SumnerJason Laferrerabobi+bobi, Un ami pour Lucas foxEnzo Mari, The Fable Game, 1965Richard Scarry, Golden happy book of animals, 1963Nikolai TyrsaVioletta Testacalda foxElisabeth Ivanovsky foxMaurice Sendak’s fox costume illustration for the NYC Opera production of The Cunning Little VixenA chocolate wrapper from the Soviet UnionCharles Robinson (1870–1937) 1935 illustration The Fox and the Grapes for Aesop’s FablesThe Handbook of British Mammals 1977 Cover artLennart Helje b.1940a Silkscreen print by Tim Southall and titled ‘Winter Fox’from Vitaly Bianchi’s Fox and the little mouse 1960 by Yuri VasnezovRobert Ayton 1961 Heinrich LeutemannBy Arthur Rackham (1867-1939)–Ill. Over Stock and Stone f. Hansel & Grethel & other tales, 1920Visiting The Foxes by Nicolas Bebbington, Illustrated By R.M. Turvey, Blandford Press Ltd, London mid 1940sVisiting The Foxes by Nicolas Bebbington, Illustrated By R.M. Turvey, Blandford Press Ltd, London mid 1940sVisiting The Foxes by Nicolas Bebbington, Illustrated By R.M. Turvey, Blandford Press Ltd, London mid 1940sVisiting The Foxes by Nicolas Bebbington, Illustrated By R.M. Turvey, Blandford Press Ltd, London mid 1940sVisiting The Foxes by Nicolas Bebbington, Illustrated By R.M. Turvey, Blandford Press Ltd, London mid 1940sVisiting The Foxes by Nicolas Bebbington, Illustrated By R.M. Turvey, Blandford Press Ltd, London mid 1940sVisiting The Foxes by Nicolas Bebbington, Illustrated By R.M. Turvey, Blandford Press Ltd, London mid 1940sVisiting The Foxes by Nicolas Bebbington, Illustrated By R.M. Turvey, Blandford Press Ltd, London mid 1940sVisiting The Foxes by Nicolas Bebbington, Illustrated By R.M. Turvey, Blandford Press Ltd, London mid 1940s
A woman trapped on a mountain attempts to survive more than one kind of monster, in a dread-inducing horror novel from the national bestselling author Christina Henry.
Mattie can’t remember a time before she and William lived alone on a mountain together. She must never make him upset. But when Mattie discovers the mutilated body of a fox in the woods, she realizes that they’re not alone after all.
There’s something in the woods that wasn’t there before, something that makes strange cries in the night, something with sharp teeth and claws.
When three strangers appear on the mountaintop looking for the creature in the woods, Mattie knows their presence will anger William. Terrible things happen when William is angry.
A shapeshifting fox (kitsune), sporting a lotus-leaf hat, 踊 る 狐 (1900s-1910s), by Ohara Koson (1878-1945)Bulgarian Folk Tales illustrated by Rumen SkorchevGarth Williams from Fox Eyes by Margaret Wise Brown, 1951Arkady SherOne Fine Day by Nonny Hogrogian 1971 front coverOne Fine Day by Nonny Hogrogian 1971 back coverOne Fine Day by Nonny Hogrogian 1971 under the dust coverTickly and the Fox written by Bill and Rosalie Brown illustrated by Haris Petie 1960sTickly and the Fox written by Bill and Rosalie Brown illustrated by Haris Petie 1960sTickly and the Fox written by Bill and Rosalie Brown illustrated by Haris Petie 1960sTickly and the Fox written by Bill and Rosalie Brown illustrated by Haris Petie 1960sTickly and the Fox written by Bill and Rosalie Brown illustrated by Haris Petie 1960s‘Our Little Friends of Eskimo Land Papik and Natsek ‘ by Frances Carpenter published 1931N.C. Wyeth’s fox in winter (Men of Concord endpaper illustration) 1935
FOR FURTHER INVESTIGATION
Myth Monsters: Inugami. “For this week’s episode, we’re heading back over to Japan and looking at the terrible tale of the Inugami! How do these ghostly dogs link to Kitsune and the class system? How can you get one in the most horrendous way? Find out this week!”
