The first of the two tales, 'Mrs. Fox up in a Tree', begins with a surprised human observer asking Mrs. Fox why she is up in a tree. The resulting exchange between these two characters evolves from the fox's clarifying response to the human's introductory question into an expanded revelation of peak elements within a 'snapshot' of a fox family's life. The second tale, 'Jesse and the Talkative Takin', begins by introducing Jesse, a student who has a free day to spend as she wishes. She decides to visit one of her favorite places, the zoo. Once there, Jesse initially observes the animal residents and their surroundings with her normal interest and curiosity. That apparent normalcy is unexpectedly broken by a rather brave and assertive young takin. The takin wants to talk with Jesse and descends from its pasture into a dry moat in order to get closer to Jesse for more conversation. The resulting discussion grows from polite introductions into the takin's very optimistic outlook regarding reintroduction to the wild, and ultimately, into reinforcement of Jesse's zoo-centered career objectives.