The novel “Little Fuzzy” by H. Beam Piper was published for the first time in 1962. Itìs the first book in the Fuzzy series. It can be freely downloaded from the Project Gutenberg website.

Jack Holloway is a Sunstone prospector on the Zarathustra planet on behalf of the Zarathustra Company. During his work, he comes across small creatures he names Little Fuzzies and soon realizes that they show signs of intelligence, an event that can dramatically change the planet’s status.

The Zarathustra Company has a charter on the planet based on the fact that it’s not inhabited by sapient creatures, if the level of intelligence of the Little Fuzzies got recognized the corporation would lose part of the control of the planet’s resources. The decision becomes the subject of a harsh legal battle in the form of a murder trial.