Well now, Tam took a besom broom and began to clear the snow from around the woodpile. But no sooner had he started than the auld wife piped up:

"Tam, Tam where are you son? I'm a poor auld soul. I'm all alone and ailing. The fire's gone out and if you dinnae tak pity and gie me a sup o' parritch, I'll surely dee this very night. And not a soul to put a flower on my grave neither.."

And Tam replied:

"I've only just stepped out to sweep the snow with the besom broom, mither, but it can wait."

And in he came and gave the auld wife a piece of stale bread and a morsel of cheese for it was all that was left in that mean auld cotter hoose. And he sat with the auld wife till they were both as cauld as stanes. After a while a great white moon rose and the stars came out like diamonds in the sky.

Well at last the auld wife fell asleep by the empty fire and Tam stole outside hoping to chop the wood by moonlight. By now he was hungry as a cuddy and caulder than any stane and his heart heavy as an iron bar.

Well so. Now first Tam cleared the snow with the besom broom and then he fetched the axe. Well, he was just about to swing it and tackle that pile of wood when a strange thing happened.

Just beyond the house in the light of the huge white moon, there stood a white fox. Such a fine creature you never did see. At first Tam could not believe his eyes for the fine little fox was just the colour of the snow itself, soft and white with two bright eyes as black as coals. And she gazed at Tam without fear, such a look that made his heart leap.

"In all my life I never did see such a creature as this," whispered Tam. For he had seen foxes aplenty but never once a snow white fox. And she seemed to glow with a strange light there under the huge white moon.

Now the white fox gazed at Tam and snuffed the air. And with one bound as light as air she flew off through the dark trees.Well now, didn't Tam drop the axe without even thinking what he was doing and began to chase after her. Now if you had asked him why he ran, he couldn't have said. But once he had begun running he could not stop.

And as he ran he began to call out to her:

"Stop, stop....! Please stop my fine Snow Beauty!"

Though why he called is anyone's guess. That fine sly fox didn't stop, I tell ye. She only ran faster and faster, till the mean auld cotter hoose was left far behind and Tam could hear the auld wife's cries just like a faint whisper in the distance:"Tam, Tam where are you son? I'm a poor auld soul. I'm all alone and ailing and...."

But on and on and on Tam ran over snow over stream, over mountain over mire, over boulder over bog till he was lost entirely in a white land of ice and snow. And now though he looked all around him, he could not see a sign of the white fox anywhere. She was gone. and where she was gone to he could not tell.