The Fox at the Manger

the long version

The Fox in the Manger is an allegorical tale based on the tradition that on Christmas night the animals in the stable - the ass, the cow, the sheep, and the dove - have the power of human speech and thus are able to tell one another of the gifts they have given to the Child. "Why were there no gifts from the wild animals?" asks one of the characters, and the author replies that there were such offerings and proceeds to the central theme of the story. The Fox in the Manger is a delightful mixture of gaiety, gravity, poetry and common sense by the author of the popular Mary Poppins books. Illustrated with wood engravings by Thomas Bewick.