The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck - Beatrix Potter
Perhaps my favorite of all the Beatrix Potter stories I've read thus far. There is something impossibly hysterical about the whole thing. Hapless Jemima (with her trademark shawl and poke bonnet) wanders into the woods looking for a place to roost away from the interfering farmer. There she encounters a suave gentleman with sandy whiskers and a bushy tail. Naturally, he offers to help her with her predicament and even goes so far as to make his summer home (full of nice soft feathers) available for her use. Not only that, once she has laid he eggs he expresses great concern for them - turning them over and counting them daily. Oh Jemima.... But she remains obstinately clueless even after this foxy gentleman sends her off to gather herbs for his omelette. Thank goodness for Kep the wise collie-dog, a real life pet and favorite of Potter's.

**I'd never really considered it, but upon further investigation I see that Potter considered this a retelling of Little Red Riding Hood. Of course, I see it now and I love it!