Kitsune

"Kitsune," shadowbox with beaded fox skull, $95 or best offer.

On the sides of the box is the text of a Japanese folk tale:

Ono, an inhabitant of Mino, spent the seasons longing for his ideal woman. He met her one evening on a vast moor and married her. Simultaneously with the birth of their son, Ono's dog bore a pup which, as it grew up, became more and more hostile to the lady of the house. She begged her husband to kill it, but he refused. One day the dog attacked her so furiously that she lost her courage, resumed vulpine shape, leaped over a fence and fled.

"You may be a fox," Ono called after her, "but you are the mother of my son and I love you. Come back when you please; you will always be welcome." So every evening she stole back and slept in his arms.