This portrait was inspired by the English Folktale, "The Small-Tooth Dog".

Did you ever get the feeling things just might not be quite right?

In this story, A man is almost killed by a group of wild youth during a attempted mugging but is saved by a brave dog that leaps in and saves the day.

As a thank you, the man asks the dog what he wants in return for his bravery. The dog asks for his most precious possession, the man's daughter.

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At first the man says not but the dog insists that he is no ordinary dog ... Of course not, right.

So the usual daughter/dog courting ensues. Where the dog takes her to his fancy house, feeds her fancy food and he gives gets to awkwardly ride/fly on this back through the town. She is still pretty miserable, but he treats her ok. And the become sort of friendly. After figuring out the dog a bit. She stops referring to him as a "foul, small toothed dog", to "sweet as a honeycomb". (He lets her visit her dad after receiving compliments). The sweet words are good enough for him, and the spell is broken. He then turns back to his old self, strange small toothed man....the wedding happens soon after. Yay...it must be love...

The original hand drawn and painted illustration was created by me (Debra Styer) with watercolor and gouache.

The print includes a lovely antique white mat ready to pop into a 8 x 10 frame.

The print will be shipped to you in a protective sleeve with extra backing in a sturdy flat mailing envelope.