The wishing foxes
(Book)

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."

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.