Ugly Duck and Other

When I was a young boy, my father took me to the local cinema to watch Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The wicked witch scared me half to death and I had nightmares for weeks. Then we went along to Pinocchio. Now, that's a horror movie! You don't think so? I didn't fancy being transformed into a jackass, swallowed by a whale and having my nose grow so long, a bird could nest on it! That was the beginning of a fascination with tales of magic and fantasy that has spanned sixty years. This collection of eight short stories includes: Ugly Duck, in which Doris Dorking appears to be just about the most unfortunate girl in the world. Then she meets an angel and things begin to change for the better—or so it seems. This is a fun, moralistic tale written with my tongue firmly in my cheek. Badger is a creepy story about a visit that doesn't turn out quite as you might expect. If you enjoyed Badger, read Slippery Fish before you turn out the lights for the night—I dare you! Maxi is a sixty-five year old biker who doesn't want to give up his colors but needs some new gear which he can't afford. Three Wishes…Hmm sounds familiar. In The Aliens have Landed, Gerald Fletcher is discovered wandering in the wilderness. He claims he left his partner behind in a flying saucer. Snapplegek is a piece of whimsy, balanced out by the much more serious Dark Night. You wouldn't believe what goes on in a hospital. The final story, Sting like a Butterfly, is the scariest of all, only because it is true.