In old Japan, the daughter of a village innkeeper feeds a samurai warrior who turns out to be a fox. Pleased by the girl’s kindness, the magical creature rewards her with a black kettle. As long as she cares for the kettle as if it were her own child, the fox tells her, the village rice crops will flourish forever. All is well until the girl is ordered to move to the landowner’s household and leave all her belongings behind. With the kettle no longer in her care, the rice crops fail and people begin to starve. In this traditional tale celebrating kindness and bravery, the young woman must escape the landowner, confront the angry foxes and come up with a clever plan to save the rice crops forever. Recommended reading ages: 4-10