The Crocodile's Toothache
by Jacqueline Richards (England)

The crocodile gave a toothy grin, exposing gaps in his mouth where once there were teeth. The crocodile moaned and groaned in agonizing pain and licked his lips. He had been chewing on a piece of bark and nibbling the odd piranha or two for breakfast when he heard an incredible "CRUNCH !"

A fishbone had become lodged in his jaw and out popped an incisor - one of the first he had ever had (... and the biggest). The white tooth crashed to the floor, hitting a leaf and falling into the stream. It floated off around the bend and over the waterfall.

His mouth almost burst with pain and his head ached. His gums swelled and his mouth drooled. The crocodile chewed on a paracetamol - but it was no good - his pain did not ease much at all. He swilled his mouth with river rapid mouthwash - gargled daily for a week - but it seemed that his mouth was still on fire. The crocodile had never experienced anything like this before - an electric impulse shot through his jaw, his tail wobbled and his feet crunched in agony. The more he grinned, the worse his pain became ... and worse ... and worse. He was hungry and his belly rumbled, but there was no chance that the crocodile could eat anything for a week.

The crocodile's toothache was a real pain. No chewing, nor crunching for a week. As he grinned, his teeth grinded ... Being a crocodile with toothache wasn't much fun ... it meant that he couldn't get any of his crocodile crunching done.

THE END