Fox Tale

Fox is the forest con artist. The wily animal has already talked Donkey into trading his prized chestnuts to him for a bag of rocks, given Rabbit sour grapes in exchange for sweet ones and snatched away Crow's cheese. Fox attempts to add Bear to the list of victims by offering him his luxurious tail in exchange for Bear's half-jar of honey. After Fox disparages Bear's tail Listening to Fox's disparagement of his tail (``everybody else has a better one than you''), the two strike a bargain. Bear agrees to the bargain. But this bruin is not the simpleton he at first seems, and he nicely turns the tables on his tormentor. In the end, the combined intellect of all the victims is too much for Fox, and they trick him into a hasty retreat. In Abolafia's ( My Three Uncles ; A Fish for Mrs. Gardenia ) Aesop-like fable, youngsters will relish the clever plot twists as they cheer for the duped animals. Like the text, the illustrations are peppy and expressive--slightly reminiscent of the work of William Steig. Ages 4-up. (Apr.)