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ISBN 978-83-7829-072-8

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A little ant with big ideas, and his human friend Joey will delight your children with their exciting adventures.

The imaginative stories in these fun, colorful books will both entertain your children and help them learn valuable lessons

that every kid should know.

the secret of the spooky houseHave you ever heard of a place that is haunted? If so, you were most likely

afraid of that place. Maybe some other kids told you that someone scary lived there. One day, Joey and Andy find themselves near such a house. Read to find

out what happened there!After a long and adventurous day, Joey discovers that it is not always

good to believe others when they say that someone is old and ugly. Sometimes we can miss out on meeting someone special!

lAwn MOweR On THe lOOSeRunAwAy AnTS

THe SwIMMIng HOle dISASTeRTHe bAnd MuSIc MySTeRy

dAngeR AT THe cIRcuSTHe RunAwAy dOg

THe SecReT Of THe SpOOky HOuSeTHe gOOfed up ScIence pROJecT

Books For Those We Love

The Secret of the Spooky House

Look for Andy Ant in his other books, too!

ANDY’S SWIMMING HOLE

ANDY’SROOM

FAMILY ROOM

JOEY’S HOME

ANDY’S HOME

Mr. DAVIS’HOME

Creator: Lawrence W. O’Nan created Andy Ant in the 1970s when he told bed-time stories to his children. He developed Andy Ant to assist him in instilling values and providing an imaginary hero for his two daughters. He regularly lectures and teaches on subjects dealing with values. He and his family reside in California, where is he is a fund raising consultant with nonprofit organizations.Author: Gerald D. O’Nan is the author of the Andy Ants stories. The stories are based on events that occurred during his childhood and individuals who played important roles in his life as a child. He actively works with children in his community as a teacher and storyteller and also teaches seminars in public and private schools on creative writing and storytelling. He and his family reside in Colorado, where he is an attorney.Illustrator: Norman McGary is an internationally recognized illustrator. He began his career in 1957 when he illustrated children’s books for Walt Disney and became known for his illustrations in 101 Dalmatians and Sleeping Beauty. His career also in-cludes extensive work with Hanna-Barbera Productions, Warner Brothers, and Jere-miah Films. He resides in California, where he continues to illustrate many projects.

STORM DRAIN

DINING ROOM

HALLWAY

SIDEWALK

INSIDEANDY’S HOME

ANT SCHOOL

JOEY’SSCHOOL

PORCH STEP

Dear

Have you ever been afraid of a

place you thought was haunted?

And you knew it was haunted be-

cause the other kids said it was?

Well, that’s what happened to Andy

and me. I was so afraid that I near-

ly missed out on something very

special! I hope you learn the same

neat things that Andy and I did.

Sincerely,

Joey

Vocatio PUBLiSHiNG HoUSE Warsaw

Created by Lawrence W. O’NanWritten by Gerald D. O’Nan

Illustrated by Norman McGary

the Secret of the Spooky House

To our Mom, Ida Frances, who loves children

“Joey, Joey,” andy said tapping on my cereal bowl, “over here.”

i looked down to see andy and his sister, an-gelica, standing next to the bowl.

“are you crazy?” i asked. “You know what my mom will do if she finds ants in the kitchen?”

andy knodded his head that he knew, but said, “i’ve got a problem and really need your help.”

i was kind of surprised that andy needed my help. Usually, i was needing andy to help me do something. So, i listened very carefully as andy started telling me his problem.

“You see, Joey”, andy began, “we need to be someplace by 10 o’clock, but mom said i had to finish cleaning my room first. an-gelica helped me, but it was still a big job. and now we won’t be there on time, unless... well, unless you give us a ride on your bi-cycle.”

“Sure, i’ll take you,” i said. “Where do you have to go?”“oh... just over to arthur ant’s house,” angelica said, but for

some reason she had a funny look on her face.

While i finished eating, i asked andy who this arthur fellow was.

“oh, he’s a good friend of mom and dad’s. in fact, he lets us call him arty, even though his real name is arthur,” andy said.

“at first we didn’t know if we would like him,” angelica began, “because he was even older than uncle andrew. But mom said that

shouldn’t make any difference.”“and she was right,” andy said.Mom said that by the time ants get older, they really know a lot.

and if we pay attention, they can teach us some important things,” angelica stated.

“Yeah, like teaching us how to paint pictures,” andy blurted out as he ate some crumbs of toast.

“Wow, do you think he could teach me how to paint?” i asked.“i don’t know,” angelica answered, “but i’ll ask him if you want

me to.”as we ran outside, my two passengers climbed up on the handle

bars and i started peddling my bike down the street.

“Hey, look who’s following us,” andy said pointing to my dog Freckles. “May-be he wants to learn how to paint pic- tures, too!”

Freckles was really my brother’s dog, but i always liked having him around so i was glad he was following us.

andy started giving me directions to arty’s house. We had gone about six blocks when andy announced that arty lived in the wood pile behind the house with all the trees. i slammed on my bra-kes, and the bicycle slid to a stop.

“that’s the haunted house,” i said. “and i’m not going near that place.”

11

“We were afraid you would say that,” angelica said.“But really, Joey, there’s no such thing as a haunted house,” andy

argued in just half a philosopher’s voice.“oh yes there is. all the kids at school say so. and there’s a

mean old lady who lives inside!” i insisted.“i’ve been coming over here for a long time, and i’ve never seen

a mean old lady there,” angelica said.“oh, yeah, well she probably doesn’t bother ants, but i tell you

that place is haunted and i’m not going in there. and besides, there’s no way to get through that big fence,” i said.

Just then there was a noise in the weeds. at first nobody moved. then Freckles headed out like a shot. He ran right between one of the iron bars in the fence and started chasing something.

“Here Freckles, here Freckles,” i called. But Freckles didn’t come back. i called him again, but he still didn’t come. i could hear Fre-ckles barking and yelping and it sounded like he was in trouble.

“What am i going to do now?” i asked myself right out loud.“We’ll probably have to go in there and find him,” andy said.

13

“i told you i’m not going near that place!” i answered.

“Well, he’s your dog and you can do what you want, but if he were mine and i thought he was in trouble, i would sure go after him,” andy said.

andy was probably right. if Freckles was in trouble, i had to go help him... even if the hou-se was haunted. But how was i going to get in there?

the gate was locked, and i didn’t think i could get through the bars. andy must have known just what i was thinking.

“You can get in over there, Joey. See, the bars are bent, and i think you can squeeze through the fence,” he suggested.

it took some doing, but i finally made it. andy and angelica even tried to help a little. anyhow, here we were inside the fence by the haunted house. i could still hear Freckles yelping, but it sou-nded like he was on the other side of the house now.

as we started walking in that direction, i promised God that i would always keep Freckles on a leash, if i made it out of here alive.

“Joey,” angelica whispered, “i think somebody is watching us.” My body froze, and my heart started pounding so hard that i was sure the mean old lady could hear it.

“Did you see somebody?” andy asked.“No, it just feels like somebody is watching us,”

angelica answered.“oh, don’t be silly, angelica. You can’t feel so-

mebody watching you,” andy responded. But just to make sure, he climbed up on my shoulder and looked all around.

“there’s nobody watching us, Joey, let’s go find Freckles so we can get out of here, or a-a, i mean so angelica and i can get to our art lesson,” andy said with just a little quiver in his voice.

as we slowly crept toward the old house, i was beginning to think that angelica was right. Maybe somebody was watching us. But andy was up on my shoulder, and i was sure he would see anybody... if they could be seen!

i stopped for a second to look at the house. i’m sure the kids at school were right, it was haunted! and they said the mean old lady kept kids down in her basement. Just thinking about it made me shiver all over.

“What are you stopping here for, Joey?” andy asked. “We had better get moving so we don’t

get eaten up or something.”“andy, what are you saying? You don’t believe in this haunted

house stuff, do you?” angelica asked.“Well, no-o-o,” andy said as his voice faded away. “Joey, Joey, there is somebody watching us.”

“Now don’t do that to me andy, i’m scared enough as it is,” i said.

“Really, Joey, Somebody is watching us... and she’s standing right over there,” andy whispered into my ear.

i could tell that andy wasn’t kidding. Ever so slowly, i turned my head in the direction andy had pointed. there stood the mean old lady. i wanted to run, but my legs just wouldn’t move. i started wondering if her basement was really as cold and damp as the kids said it was.

“What are you doing here, little boy?” She asked in a real gruff voice. “Have you come to steal my apples? Huh? answer me, boy!” My mouth was wide open, but i couldn’t get anything to come out.

“Speak up, boy. What are you doing trespas-sing on my property!” the old lady demanded.

“Please don’t lock me up in your basement. i was just trying to find my dog. He was chasing something, and he wouldn’t come when i called him. and please don’t lock me up in your basement,” i blurted out again.

the old lady kind of smiled, “So you have heard that i put little kids in my basement?”

“Yes ma’am,” i said trying to be as nice as i could. “the kids at school said so.”

“and what else did the kids at school say?” she demanded.“Well... they said your house was haunted and that you’re mean,”

i answered.“Did any of those kids ever tell you they had been locked up in

my basement?” she asked.

“No, they just said that’s what you do,” i answered.“Did any of them tell you that they broke one of my windows

with a rock?” she asked.

i shook my head no.“Did any of the kids tell you that i caught them playing in my

garden after they had ruined most of the vegetables?” she asked in a softer voice.

i shook my head again to let her know i had never heard that be-fore either.

“Well now, you said you weren’t here to steal my apples, but it had something to do with your dog?”

“that’s right. Freckles, my dog, heard something in the weeds, and he started chasing it, and he wouldn’t come back when i called him. then he started yelping, and i was afraid he was in trouble.”

the old lady thought for a few seconds then said, “Would you like me to see if i can get Freckles to come back?”

“Would you do that? Would you really?” i asked.She nodded her head and walked into her house.

23

When she was out of sight, andy and angelica climbed out of my shirt pocket. “We haven’t deserted you, Joey, but we don’t want the lady to see us... just in case you get thrown in the basement and need somebody to go for help,” andy said. Before andy could say anything else, the old lady came out of the house with a bowl of milk.

“this will get your dog to come back,” she said.“Well, Freckles doesn’t like milk very well,” i said.“that’s alright because i’m pretty sure it will make the old cat he

was chasing come back. and that way Freckles will come too,” she answered with a smile.

Sure enough, the yellow cat came sneaking over to the milk. then, just like she said, Freckles came running back trying to find the cat. i think he must have been glad to see me because he jumped up and licked my face real good.

the old lady laughed and gave Freckles a hug. i could tell from the way she laughed and hugged Freckles that she wasn’t mean. and when she smiled, she didn’t look nearly as old either.

i guess andy and angelica could tell she wasn’t mean either. So they quietly snuck out of my pocket and headed for arty’s.

Before i could leave the lady started talking about the things she liked to do. and then she wanted to know about the things i liked to do! We talked for a few minutes, but i knew it was time for me to go home. after all, mom and dad’s first rule is “don’t talk to strangers.” and i wouldn’t have talked at all if i hadn’t already been on her property!

that night as i was getting ready for bed, i heard the familiar tap on my window.

“i wanted to make sure you didn’t get thrown in the lady’s base-ment,” andy said.

“oh, she would never do that!” i said. “and besides, we’re going to be good friends. and boy, is she ever smart! You saw how she got Freckles to come back right away.”

“Yeah, that was neat,” andy said as he star-ted to leave. “oh, i nearly forgot to tell you. We asked arty about teaching you how to paint.

But he said he only teaches ants.”“that’s o.K.,” i said. “the lady is learning how to paint, and i

get to learn right along with her. Mom and dad said it would be o. K. because they already know her. they even talked to her on the phone!”

“Wow, Joey, if Freckles hadn’t run off you would still think a mean old lady lived in the haunted house. and you might never have learned how to paint,” andy said in his philosopher’s voice. “You even have a new friend now!”

as i turned off the light, i thought about my new friend and what i had learned today. From now on i wasn’t going to always believe

what the other kids say. Because people are usually nice if you are nice, too. and i think i learned that people are kind of like the ants that andy’s mom talked about — by the time they get older, they really know a lot; and if we pay attention they can teach us some important things.

So remember, don’t believe the other kids if they say somebody is old and mean. if you do, you’ll probably miss out on having a new friend. and you might not learn how to paint!

Andy’s Family (Me)

MomDadU

ncle

And

rew

Ang

elic

aD

ickte

rPa

rker

Your Friend, Andy

Mom Dad

Joey’s Family (Me)

Fre

ckl

es

Your Friend, Joey

Bec

kyD

wa

yne

The Adventures of Andy AntThe Secret of the Spooky House

copyright © 1995 by andy ant Productions, inc.10951 W. center ave., Lakewood, co 80226, U.S.a.

all rights reserved

copyright for the English edition(excluding North america)

© 1996 by Vocatio PUBLiSHiNG HoUSE

all rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book, or any portions thereof, in any form. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic

or mechanical, magnetic, chemical, optical, manual, or otherwise, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system without prior written permission from Vocatio.

For the permission please contact:

Vocatio PUBLiSHiNG HoUSEPolnej Róży 1

02-798 WarsawPoLaND

e-mail: ceo@vocatio.us

www.vocatio.us

Printed in Poland

ISBN 978-83-7829-072-8