The little girl bent down to pick a small white cluster of flowers by the stem. She skipped through the field to her friend Josh's house, presenting it to the little boy. She waited hopefully, but rather than smell it, he put it in a mortar and hefted his dads pestle, crashing it down again and again, then mashing it into a fine powder.

  The boy had seen his father do this with a great many plants, turning them into potions for curing all manner of ailments. He mixed other powders in as he had seen, then added water, stirring until he had a paste. Not remembering what came next, he spread the paste on some bread and ate it.

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  The girl watched as he gripped his stomach and fell to the ground shuddering. After a short time, he was a motionless corpse with a pool of drool and diarrhea.

  The girl cheerfully went back out. More people needed these flowers!