WILD MUSHROOMS

 
Once, while Baba was away on a mast trip, Mehera, Mani, and Meheru decided to go mushroom-hunting. They left with raincoats over their house-clothes, not bothering to change, since it was a secluded area. They found a few button mushrooms near some logs. "There was a big maidan [field] near our house," Mehera related. "We tried to collect the right ones, but Goher was worried. She kept warning us that we were going to get poisoned, but we thought we knew about them. We knew the poisonous ones would smell and taste bitter."

They brought the mushrooms back to Grafton. "Don't eat those!" Goher warned. "I don't have a stomach pump here." Ignoring her, Mani washed them hurriedly and fried them with butter and salt. They were delectable, and Mehera and Mani sat in front of Goher (purposely!), eating the mushrooms on a piece of toast.

"You won't listen to me," Goher fumed, "so I am not responsible if you both get sick."

"Oh don't get so excited, Goher," Mehera said. "Here, have some. They're delicious."

Goher did not dare. "Let me at least keep alive to take you both to the hospital."

"But they're so tasty," Mehera said. "Try them."

"I'm not going to get sick," Goher said; but Mehera insisted, so Goher had a few. She liked them so much that she wanted more — and only then stopped reprimanding them.

More mushrooms grew on a large compost pile of Sheba's droppings, which was used as manure for the garden. Once, Mehera and Mani went to collect mushrooms from this heap. Tiny ones were growing, which they cooked and ate on toast. Although these were not very appetizing, Mani had a lot. (Mehera took a lesser amount.) Mani went to do some correspondence, but while she was typing, she started feeling odd. A giddy feeling came over her, and things became hazy. She did not tell anyone, thinking that Mehera had eaten some of the mushrooms and nothing had happened to her. "I was also scared that if I said anything, I wouldn't be allowed to eat wild mushrooms in the future," Mani admitted.

A few days later, when the women were outside gardening, Naja saw the mushrooms on the dung heap and said, "Mehera, you like mushrooms. Look at all these. Bring a pail, and I'll prepare them for you."

Mehera collected and washed them, and Naja fried them. They offered some to Mani who said, "No thank you, none for me." She did not tell the others what had happened to her, and this time, Mehera ate a lot.

Mehera recounted what happened: "We thought they were okay because Mani had eaten them before, and she was still alive. But that night, while I was brushing my teeth, I started to feel funny. I wanted to sleep, but when I lay down, I couldn't. I couldn't sleep, and I couldn't stay awake. Afterwards, the story came out. We scolded Mani, 'For goodness sake, why didn't you tell us?!'"