“Come on, Mommy. Let’s go!” shouted the little fox, walking underneath his mother. But her legs wouldn’t carry her farther; so she couldn’t but send her child alone into the town.
“Give me your hand, dear,” said she. Then, as she clasped it lovingly, his paw turned into a little human hand. He opened it, closed it, and pinched it again and again. For a while, he sniffed at it, too. “How funny! What’s this?” asked the little animal, staring at his hand in the moonlight.
“This is a human hand,” said the mother, “Listen, dear. Go into the town. You’ll see many houses. Find a sign of a top hat. Then knock on the door of that house, and say, ‘Excuse me.’ A man inside will open the door a little. Put this hand, your human hand, into the crack, and say, ‘I want mittens in just my size.’ OK? And you must not hold out your other hand!”