CHAPTER 12
"A Tree Gets In The Way"

Dr. Beak had obviously expected something to go wrong and turned up at Mumsie's with his full Medical Kit. This included a hammer, a saw and a plumber's rubber drain clearer. He also had pliers, an assortment of files, a battery operated drill and a dust mask. In various inside pockets were tucked away wire cutters, light gauge fencing wire, a selection of needles, scissors, knives, string, cotton wool and sticking plaster.

The medicines were even stranger. There was a bottle of wart remover made out of old toad skins. Then there was the famous throat gargle made out of bush lemons and boiled black ants. And for cuts and burns there was the soothing cream made from squashed snails and eucalyptus leaves.

There were some members of the community who unkindly suggested that Dr.Beak's treatments were far worse than the original condition and needed a longer recovery time than if you had simply not had the treatment at all.

But still, Dr. Beak was well prepared and ready for whatever may eventuate. Mumsie was quite grateful for Dr. Beak's company, and felt quite confident that things would work out.

Nobody had actually seen Mumsie leave the canvas fishing chair for years. Some even argued that she had forgotten how to walk. So she was probably not particularly suited to any difficult rescue work herself. In fact it would probably need a medium sized truck and a crane to lift her out of the chair itself.