I'm watching my little sister tonight and while reading her bedtime stories she chose The Tale of Mr. Tod by Beatrix Potter, which is a story I was read as a kid. It's about this badger who steals a litter of baby rabbits, so the rabbits' father and his brother follow the badger's scent to the house of a fox that moves house constantly. Unaware there's baby rabbits waiting in his oven to be eaten in the morning, the fox finds the badger has made himself at home and is sleeping in his bed, stinking up the place and making a mess. The fox, having had a rough day, tries to prank the badger to get back at him and make him leave, but fails and they get into a fight, leaving an opening for the rabbits to save the babies.
I've always kind of liked the depictions of foxes in literature like this, the woodland-critters-that-wear-clothes kind. This story in particular describes Mr. Tod as nasty and unpleasant and mean, but in the actual plot he's not a villain. He had a bad day, his hunting escapades all messed up, and he comes home to find a squatter in his current house. He doesn't even try to kill the guy, just prank him so he can get a laugh and make him leave at the same time. Very reasonable, to be honest. I must say though, the highlight is the illustrations. Beatrix Potter's drawings both depict the animals as civil members of a strange society, then in the next panel they're hunched over or sitting or rolling around like a feral creature no different than the ones we see outside. It gives alterhuman vibes, having these moments of animality amongst humanoid experiences, but still being affected at all times by your species.
