City of Animals

This is a collection of animal tales, don’t be fooled these are not stories of cuddly bunnies and pleasant visit to the zoo. These tales combine human and animal emotions and instinct, sometimes blurring the distinct lines between species.

Consider: what do parrots do all day? Can a cat be jealous? What makes a cow smile? Find some answers (maybe!) in this wild, weird collection of alternative tales.

Often silly and full of humour, there are also dark tales, seeping into the horrors of things hiding in the walls of your house or watching you, from the darkness.

Extract from Bears & an old lady:

“It was a week after we had lived in the new house. The autumn had come then. It was sunny but cold and mornings were damp and misty. Mamma made porridge.
We had gone for a walk in the woods and the trees made funny patterns in shadows. Papa pointed out berries and trees because he always knew about such things.
When we got back to the house, the old lady was at our door. She was closing it, as if she had just come out. She smiled. It was not a nice smile. Mamma said it was like vinegar, Papa said it made him shiver inside and out.
Mamma checked all over the house but everything was as it should have been – nothing broken or missing. They pretended they had imagined the lady coming out, saying instead, she had knocked and then left.
The spiders arrived a day later.”

Come into the: City of Animals…