The Antics

This is a children's story and we do not expect adults to understand who or what the Antics are do we? They are little creatures but no one really knows exactly what they look like as they never see them for long enough. Most children who have seen them say that they have a very human-type face with a very cheeky grin and that they are no more than 15-18 centimetres tall. They also have wings, two legs and two arms and look like a mixture of an ant, rat and mouse. More than that I cannot tell. One thing that will make them instantly recognisable is that they will always be wearing something that once belonged to a human, for example, a lost sock, handkerchief etc. - anything small that has been lost they will turn into a garment of clothing. As they are so small you have to be very careful not to tread on them and very quick to see them. How did they get their name? Well, they are very ant-like creatures and of course the antics they get up to really gave them their name. What antics? you may ask. Well, this story covers just a few of them that have been found out. I am sure you will soon recognise the sort of thing and perhaps be able to tell a few stories of your own, but shhhh! They are a secret and we must not tell the adults. Carol J Ratcliff

Table of Contents:
Contents Dedication and photo of Author 7 Introduction 9 Pip and Cath Get into Big Trouble 11 Pip Is Asked to Keep a Secret 16 Cath Finds Out the Secret 20 Pip and Cath Share Their Secret 28 Antics at the Riding School 39 How Did the Young Detectives Get On? 48 Zoo-Time Fun for the Antics 68 Daring at the Circus 76 Is This the End for the Antics? 91 About the Author 102

About the Author :
The author, a grandmother, got the ideas for this book whilst bringing up her two children. It was inspired by the antics they got up to. She comes from a family of writers - both her mother and grandfather wrote children's books; her grandfather, great grandfather and great uncle illustrated and also wrote a variety of books. This is her second book; her first book is Grannie's Secret Garden a fairy story of garden ornaments that came to life for her grandchildren when they were babies and toddlers. The author has her own web site www.granniesbooks.webs.com Carol is a school governor and has spent a lot of time with children. She is also part of the Open The Book Bible reading stories group that go into schools to act and read Bible stories, giving young children a fun way of learning these stories. In her early years she taught children to ride and is now a grandmother to three children aged four years, nine years and thirteen years. She also works hard on local committees in her village in the New Forest helping the villagers to acquire a community spirit and the village to keep it's rural identity. She helps sub groups move forward to implement new clubs for the villagers and in particular for the youth and elderly residents.