The Strawberry Who Loves to Bathe

The day was Castle Elementary School's field trip day! All the students were going to a strawberry farm outside of the city for a fun time of strawberry picking, what a lovely day!

Little Bear, Squirrel and Emily arrived at the farm and walked into a strawberry canopy. They saw rows and rows of delicious red strawberries dangling from the strawberry bushes, what a scene! Little Bear was very excited, without waiting for the teacher's instructions, he quickly picked a big strawberry and swallowed it whole into his stomach. Squirrel saw Little Bear and dragged him back in line to listen to the teacher's instructions. The teacher said, “After we enter, please be careful and try not to step on the plants, we must respect the farmer's hard work. Also, remember to wash the strawberries before eating them.”After the instructions were given, all students walked into the canopy with little baskets for strawberry picking. The three friends walked in together, Little Bear walked in front of everyone, and picked many big red strawberries, his basket was quickly filled. Little Bear thought to himself “these strawberries were directly picked from the plants, they weren't on the floor, so they must be clean! I just eat one and I don't feel sick at all, the teacher is just being too careful. I'm going to eat some more! ” So, Little Bear kept eating the unwashed strawberries when the others were not paying attention. Squirrel and Emily were too focused on picking their own strawberries, so they did not pay attention to what Little Bear was doing.

An hour later, the students started to come out with their baskets, they washed their strawberries in the rest area and began eating. Little Bear had already eaten plenty, but he still washed a few and ate his strawberries with Squirrel and Emily. After a while, Little Bear's stomach began to hurt. His friends quickly reported the issue to their teacher. The teacher brought Little Bear to the hospital, after check-up, the doctor said, “Little Bear ate a large number of unwashed strawberries, you can ask Dr. Micro for the specifics.”

Squirrel and Emily quickly found Dr. Micro. After listening to their explanation, she said, “strawberries are plants with low stems, even though they are grown on plastic sheeting in a canopy, they're still prone to being contaminated by soil and germs. They must be washed thoroughly before eating. You can soak them in salted water for 5 minutes, or else they may cause irritation to the stomach.” Squirrel nodded and agreed with Dr. Micro. After returning to the hospital, the friends told Little Bear what Dr. Micro had just explained. “See! ” they said to Little Bear, “that teaches you to listen and pay attention to the teacher, Little Bear! ”. “Okay, I will try to control myself and wash the strawberries next time! ” Little Bear surely learned his lesson.

[Dr. Micro's notes and tips]

No matter what type of fruit it is, please remember to wash it before eating to prevent the possibility of food poisoning and diarrhea.