This Is What Happens ..... When You Catch A Cold E-Book

Christine Munroe

• Herausgeber: Books on Demand
• Kategorie: Für Kinder und Jugendliche
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 33

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2021

Beschreibung

Often times when you have a cold, don't you wish it'd simply disappear, in the blink of an eye? That a light breeze would take your cough away? That a runny nose would suddenly decide to stop running? That you could flush a fever down the drain? And get rid of a headache by jotting your troublesome thoughts down on paper? That's exactly what happens to the children in these wonderfully captivating short stories. Enjoy!

Leseprobe

This Is What Happens ..... When You Catch A Cold

This Is What Happens ..... When You Catch A ColdPrefaceThe CoughThe Runny NoseThe FeverThe HeadacheCopyright

This Is What Happens ..... When You Catch A Cold

A collection of short stories

Preface

I sometimes get these funny ideas for weird stories. Truth be told, I often don't know whether they're more geared toward children or adults, but I suppose that this particular collection of short stories is primarily for children.

The idea for this collection popped into my head when I had a very nasty, nagging cough I couldn't get rid of for months. Wouldn't it be magnificent if a breeze could simply carry your cough away?

The tone of these stories is light and amusing and aims to entertain. Enjoy!

The Cough

Little Joanie was lying in bed with a terrible cough. It was four in the morning and she had woken up because she had been thirsty. After she had drunk a glass of milk and a bit of water she noticed that her throat was really itching. And that was when it all began.

Joanie started coughing, only a bit at first. She took a cough drop, which helped somewhat. She was dozing off again when she had to cough again, harder this time. So she took another cough drop, but it did not help anymore. Gradually, her coughing grew worse. She buried her head in her pillow so she would not wake up her parents and brothers and sisters.

After perhaps fifteen minutes tears were streaming down her cheeks because the tickling in her throat was steadily growing worse. Suddenly she remembered the cough syrup her mom kept in the bathroom. Joanie threw off the duvet, jumped out of bed and ran down the corridor to the big bathroom, covering her mouth all the time, trying to swallow the urge to cough. She rummaged around in the bathroom cabinet and finally found the bottle of syrup, of which she poured herself a generous helping. And a second one for good measure.

She felt it running down her throat and wonderfully dulling the itch. What was weird, though, was that she neither had a sore throat nor a runny nose, so it apparently was not a proper cold. Maybe a strange allergy? But no, allergies did not run in the family.

"OK, this is better. Off to the kitchen where I know mom has stored away some cough tea."

Joanie tiptoed downstairs and opened the cabinet where her mother kept the herbal teas. She pulled out a bag of common mullein mixed with common thyme and ribwort plantain, switched the electric kettle on and waited for the water to boil. She was still sitting there half an hour later, holding a second cup of tea sweetened with honey, when her mother came into the kitchen. At five thirty she was normally the first to get up to prepare breakfast and to make everyone's lunches.

"What are you doing up at this hour?" she asked, flabbergasted. Joanie LOVED to sleep in and rarely got up before she absolutely had to. It was always a hassle to get her ready for school. Which usually involved lots of moaning, complaining and whining. Sometimes also a bowl of ice water.

"I've been trying to get rid of this sudden nagging cough for the last one and a half hours," Joanie explained. Immediately her mother felt her forehead. "No temperature," she stated.

"It's not a head cold," Joanie said, "it's just a very weird cough. But it seems to be getting better now." But she had barely finished her sentence when she was seized by a terrible coughing fit that left her gasping for air.

"Do you have to take a math test today?" her mother asked suspiciously, but Joanie shook her head. She had tried to cheat her way out of a test before so the idea was not too absurd. "If it doesn't improve, I'll take you to the doctor. In the meantime have some more cough syrup and put a hot water bottle on your chest. It's also in the bathroom."