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A family of salamanders from the United States lived in the village as part of a cultural exchange. One of the salamanders, Sam (short for Samasu), was Gil's best friend. Gil liked to call his friend the "lean green bean." Gil and Sam spent the days exploring the jungles and fields of sugar cane nearby. They thought of themselves as great adventurers.
One hot summer day, Gil and Sam got permission to go on an overnight camp-out alone. They were instructed by their parents where they could and couldn't go. But Gil and Sam, being curious, went where they weren't supposed to and climbed up a mountain to a cave. Soon they were happily climbing along the cool walls of the cave.
"What if we get lost?" Gil looked towards the back of the cave. It seemed to go on forever.
"Nah, we'll be fine. C'mon." Sam didn't wait for an answer and scooted along the wall.
"Hey, wait for me!" Gil yelled and pulled his cap tight before running off after his friend.
They played hide and seek among shiny rocks, batted their tails in small pools of water, and splashed each other. After a while they just sat and rested, looking up at the pointy rocks on the ceiling.
"Shhh." Gil said. "Do ya hear that?"
"What?" Sam asked and Gil whapped him with his tail.
"Be quiet. I hear voices," Gil whispered. "C'mon."
They quickly made their way to the ceiling and hid among the pointy rocks. Soon the voices got louder and louder until Gil and Sam could see flickering lights. The lights and voices came closer and Gil gasped. It was the cockroaches!
Jayne Hitchcock Author Page