The Fox and the Hound is a 1967 novel written by Daniel P. Mannix and illustrated by John Schoenherr. It follows the lives of Tod, a red fox raised by a human for the first year of his life, and Copper, a half-bloodhound dog owned by a local hunter, referred to as the Master. After Tod causes the death of the man's favorite hound, man and dog relentlessly hunt the fox, against the dual backdrops of a changing human world and Tod's normal life in hunting for food, seeking a mate, and defending his territory. As preparation for writing the novel, Mannix studied foxes, both tame and wild, a wide variety of hunting techniques, and the ways hounds appear to track foxes, seeking to ensure his characters acted realistically. The novel won the Dutton Animal Book Award in 1967, which resulted in its publication on September 11 that year by E.P. Dutton. It was a 1967 Reader's Digest Book Club selection and a winner of the Athenaeum Literary Award. It was well received by critics, who praised its detail and Mannix's writing style. Walt Disney Productions purchased the film rights for the novel when it won the Dutton award, though did not begin production on an adaptation until 1977. Heavily modified from the source material, Disney's The Fox and the Hound was released to theaters in July 1981 and became a box office success.

Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fox_and_the_Hound_%28novel%29

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1757:

British Royal Navy Admiral John Byng was court-martialled and executed by firing squad for breaching the Articles of War when he failed to "do his utmost" during the Battle of Minorca at the start of the Seven Years' War. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Byng

1794:

American inventor Eli Whitney patented the cotton gin, the first ever machine that quickly and easily separated cotton fibers from their seedpods. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/cotton_gin

1885:

The Mikado , Gilbert and Sullivan's most frequently performed Savoy Opera, debuted at the Savoy Theatre in London. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mikado

1984:

Gerry Adams, leader of Sinn Féin, was seriously wounded in an assassination attempt by Ulster Freedom Fighters in central Belfast, Northern Ireland. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerry_Adams

2008:

A series of riots, protests, and demonstrations erupted in Lhasa and elsewhere in Tibet. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Tibetan_unrest

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush (proverb): It is preferable to have a small but certain advantage than a mere potential of a greater one http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/a_bird_in_the_hand_is_worth_two_in_the_bush

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

We are the music makers,

And we are the dreamers of dreams, Wandering by lone sea-breakers,

And sitting by desolate streams; —

World-losers and world-forsakers, On whom the pale moon gleams: Yet we are the movers and shakers

Of the world for ever, it seems. --Arthur O'Shaughnessy http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Arthur_O%27Shaughnessy