K-Gr. 3. Myers adapts a traditional Japanese tale involving the friendship between a Buddhist priest and a magical raccoon-dog creature, a tanuki. The characters meet when the nearly frozen tanuki appears at the priest's door, begging for shelter. The man gladly obliges, and the two develop a friendly rapport. When the tanuki insists on demonstrating his thanks, the priest admits that a gold offering might help him enter Paradise. The tanuki then disappears, returning many months later with the gold. By that time, however, the priest has realized that the true gift is the friendship. Roth's mixed-media paintings feature traditional Japanese textile patterns and household objects that lend an authentic feel to the story. As befitting a folktale, the text is simple and direct, and Myers carefully notes his sources. Although this version ends before the tanuki's death (which is the conclusion of most Japanese retellings), Myers argues that the essence of the story is the discharge of the debt, and that his ending makes the story more palatable for contemporary youngsters. Indeed, this is a gentle fable, suitable for both story hours and lap-sharing.