MALLARD: the cheery duck that saved me from a beating
PIKE: how we caught the staring terror of the haunted pond
COW: mothering instinct puts our own crying baby in peril
TAWNY OWL: face to face in a rain-drenched hollybush
RAT: shock in an African hut replaced by admiration
CHICKENS: jolted awake by a noisy newcomer
RABBIT: how two pets were driven to an early grave
BLACKBIRD: one-eyed victim takes its chances
CATS: ruthless enemies of our garden birds
SKYLARK: when a perfect summer's day goes wrong
ANTS: savage fire game almost ended in disaster
FOX: hunt gives pause for thought as death comes slowly
HEDGEHOG: garden visitor with a taste for chip shop batter
WASP: two painful encounters with this small angry menace
HERON: an aristocrat makes a meal of some Irish tiddlers