Asa Fox

One day Asa Fox decided to dig a tunnel. He found gold. Asa wanted to keep the gold a secret. So he put the gold back in the hole. Then he covered the hole with stones so he would be able to find it himself.

When the winter winds blew and it got so very cold, Asa went out of the forest to find a warm home. He came to a ragged old house. There weren't any lights on inside. The door was locked. Asa shook and shivered and wished he could get inside. Asa curled up in a tight ball on the doorstep.

Harry and Sarah Mays came home from looking for jobs. 'Darn it, I didn't find a job today,' Harry said.

''Neither did I,'' answered Sarah. She was worried because they hadn't paid their light bill. ''If we don't pay our light bill soon, they will shut our electricity off.''

''Look!'' said Harry. ''I see a little fox.''

''He looks cold,'' said Sarah. ''Let's take him in.''

Sarah picked up little Asa Fox. ''I wonder if he has a name,'' she said as Harry unlocked the door.

''It doesn't matter if we don't have any money,'' Harry said. ''We'll keep this little fox and feed him. Get that box Grandma gave me today and fix it for a bed for the fox.''

When Asa was safe and warm in his box, Sarah and Harry went to bed. Asa waited until the people were asleep. He quietly sneaked out of the house. He went to the tunnel and moved the stones. He took the gold back to the house and put it by Harry and Sarah's bed.

The next morning, Harry and Sarah woke up and found the gold. ''Now we can pay our bills,'' Harry said.

Sarah held Asa on her lap. ''This little fox has brought us luck.''