Rathla! Rathla! Rathla!

Get Ready for some action! This is me, Rathla speaking to you now from within the deep dark jungle below the Magaliesburg. I am, for those of you who do not know - seven years old and turning 8 - not soon enough.

I have already lost two teeth, the 2 bottom ones in the picture. I got money from the 'tooth mouse' - I know it was my mom, but I played along - and I used that money (R20) to help mom buy me a new Redwall book. I am crazy about Redwall. For those of you who do not know, get with it, Redwall is an adventure series by a guy called Brian Jacques and all the heroes are mice and squirrels and otters etc. and all the baddies are stoats and foxes and rats etc. Mom reads to me every night and early in the morning I go to her room and then she reads me some more and then sometimes, if I pester her enough, she will read another chapter in the day. I urge all my fans to be on the look out at second hand bookshops, I need more Redwall Books.

I am quite a busy person and by that I don't mean that I have a lot to do, but that I find a lot to do. This here is me and the tame ostrich on the farm where we stay. Her name is Dolla and you can feed her - she eats out of your hand. Sometimes when we drive in the bakkie she sees us coming and then she goes and lies down in the road and refuses to budge. The only thing that gets her moving then is food!

I love living on a game farm and I don't like going to the city too much exept to visit friends. And sometimes I like going to town with mom or dad, but for some reason they don't take me with quite as often as I would like to. I love target practicing with a pellet gun and dad has even let me take some shots at some Indian Mynahs - they are not injinous (indiginous) you know and should be take out.

I love toys and my sister cheti and I can play all day long. (mostly they act out the scenes from the Redwall book we are reading at that point - mom)

I play with my baby sister in the evening and mom and dad say I am a very good older brother to have.

I love getting full of mud (are you kidding me!- dad) and I just love going frog hunting. This is a picture of me and a friend after a mud-fight.

I have 2 fish tanks, one for frogs and one for snakes. When we catch a snake we keep it for a day or two. for 'obsermation' or something, then we let it go again. I have been on a real snake-handling course with dad, I learnt a lot and saw some awfull pictures of snake bites which made me VEEERY careful of snakes.

I have a dog called Liefie, (this is not her in the picture) and Liefie loves adventure as much as I do! She once grabbed a Cape Cobra and shook it and bit it and threw it about untill it was quite hurt. Liefie is very, very brave. She is a very good dog and sleeps in my bed with me every night. Mom doesnt mind.

I love trying out new tastes and I like making food, 'specially if I can do new and exiting things. Like once we were at my friend Kerry's mom's house and having all the Christmast leftovers and I built an aeroplane and a dinosaur out of toothpicks and food. Kerry is my girlfriend, I don't mind people teasing me about her. She is married and her husband doesn't mind that she is my girfriend either. Kerry is very cool, she loves fairies and Goblins and at her wedding I was a goblin and gave them the rings. I will let my mom look for a picture of the two of us to post here.

I love being with people - the more the merrier and everyone who also knows him says I am JUST like my mom's brother Rathla. I was named after him because he has always been there for mom through thick and thin, whatever that means. I love going to visit my uncle Rathla and my cousins Claudius, Richelle and Anri - Rathla's children.

My hair is very long, shoulder length and I want to grow it even longer - like Tarzan. Mom says its OK so long as I keep it clean. (So far so good - mom)

Well, that is some about me, there is much, much more, but mom says thats enough we must go to bed and sleep. Like me on the picture below. Goodnight!