1 Ted and Nancy

'Funny, anarchic and gloriously silly' RICHARD OSMAN CRIMOOD WELCOME Be careful not to lose your head... NADIA SHIREEN

CHAPTER ONE This is Ted. And this is Nancy. Ted and Nancy are foxes

Like a lot of foxes, they lived in a big city. Nancy was the bravest and boldest fox Ted had ever known. He couldn't remember having a mum or a dad, but he had always had Nancy. She made sure he had food and somewhere warm to sleep. As well as looking after Ted, Nancy liked to mooch around the city with her friends. She knew every street, every dark alley, every bin and every hiding place. Nancy was TOUGH. She had no time for laughing or sniffing flowers or reading comics. But Nancy didn't need those things, oh no. Ted, on the other hand, was a sweet little fox cub. He liked staying close to the den, which was hidden inside some spiky holly bushes in the corner of a huge park. Ted liked to roll around on the grass in the sunshine, snuffle through twigs and leaves, and lick up dropped ice-cream cones. Every now and then Nancy would trot by and drop off a snack for him.

Delicious… Nancy preferred coffee. It kept her ALERT.

Though sometimes, if she drank too much, she would shake and bark and Ted would have to sit on her head to calm her down. 'Chill out, Nancy.'

'Thanks, bro.' Yes, Ted and Nancy were a great pair of foxes, and they had everything they needed. Well, almost everything. Lately, Ted had noticed a weird, achy feeling in his chest. He had it whenever he watched Nancy trot away, leaving him alone in the den. He had it when he saw her chatting with her fox friends, Bin and Hedge. He had it when he saw the cute little humans in the park holding hands with their big humans. Sometimes he would have it at night, when he would sit on top of a large rock, look up at the big, dark sky and give a heavy sigh.