2009-08-03 - 12:54 p.m.

...ich mach dich gesund, sagte die mama. Die Geschichte, wie die kleine Susi einmal krank war..

After marathon washing yesterday (mostly efforts by K), it is possible that we have turned a corner. Possibly. We didn't discover any new bites today. Alternatively it could be that Susi's virus has played out its course naturally, and we have very very clean sheets. In any case, I'm glad that Susi looks less like we abuse her.

This whole incident has made her a little bit crabby and demanding. Oh the horror of yesterday when she had to take a nap without Puppy. Puppy had been removed - Sicilian style - to swim with laundry fishes. Our normal course of action would have been to provide Puppy I while Puppy II was on a secret detergent mission. But unfortunately, Puppy I has been AWOL for several weeks. We are back down to being a One-Puppy Household. Dangerous.

At the same time she's been a trouper. She's even picked up a few new words - "hot" and "cold" (from all of the baths) and "shoes" and "toes" (no doubt from the constant inspection of her feet for more marks). Which leads one to believe that illness is an educational experience.

The emergency room doctor summed it up quite accurately as he watched her, at 10pm, running in circles on the floor, all the while explaining a story in excruciating detail, in a language almost entirely of her own making:

"She's rather verbal."

I love understatement.

This whole event makes me think of one of my favorite Janosch stories (Janosch writes wonderful children's stories in German, all about Tiger and Bear.)

The full title is Ich mach dich gesund, sagte der Baer. Die Geschichte, wie der kleine Tiger einmal krank war. Loosely translated as I'll make you well, said the Bear. The story where the little tiger got sick once. - Janosch is not one for short titles.

SPOILER ALERT! In this story, poor tiger gets sick. Bear feeds him soup and smothers him in bandages and love. Eventually Tiger visits the hospital to learn that he has a broken stripe. All's well that ends well. The little bear and the little tiger go home and live happily with their tigerduck in the house under the tree by the river.