14. Gaméla and Sisoi have a toothache

Gaméla and her brother Sisoi both hold their hands on their jaws. Their mouths are tightly pressed to a thin line. “Mum, our teeth hurt a little bit.” Their mother reassures them. “You are completely healthy, only after a long winter in which we have eaten mainly seaweed, water spinach, mussels and fish, it is time now to search for more food with vitamin C which will help make your teeth healthy again.”

That means: all ashore! The whole family drags the canoe out of the water and put it on the sand. They walk from the beach to the tree area. On their way they see the most beautiful mosses and a whole bed of orchids.

But they are not there for that. “Children”, their mother says warningly: “look at the ground amongst the roots of the trees to find the first wild strawberries of the season. Dad and I will be looking for edible mushrooms (or ‘Indian bread’) on the higher parts of the trees and edible berries on the bushes.” Hmm, Sisoi is day-dreaming, hopefully they will find those dark blue Calafate, since he really likes those berries. At fifty meters they find the first fruit. He and his sister immediately start eating what they are finding. After a few hours their teeth no longer hurt, but their stomachs do. How come?

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