Neera was right. When Inka sat down at the table she could have drooled
enough to fill the Abbey pond. Widdia and Buddy sat with Tilly and Weaket,
proud of the new clothes they where given. Resmo and Skipper where still
arguing over who could eat more hotroot soup. Ace was with Peasea trading
tips on how to make the best wine cask. Sonsa rapped on the table for
silence. After grace was said everyone ate. Skipper and Resmo were across
the table from Inka, Neera, and Iris. Inka watched the two as they filled
their bowls with hotroot soup. "Do they always do that?" she asked Iris.
Iris looked up from the portion of salad she was eating. "Oh them, yes.
They always hold a contest to see who can eat the most. They always end up
in a deadlock"
"Betcha, I can beat them both"
Iris seemed surprised. "When I said deadlock I meant deadlocked in first. You can never beat them"
Inka called across the table "Hey, guys, bet I can beat you at your little hotroot soup contest"
Resmo and Skipper laughed. "What makes you think you can beat us?" asked Skipper.
"No harm in trying" replied Inka "What are the rules?"
"It's very simple. Your just eat as much hotroot soup till you can't anymore"
"Can I make a small change?"
"What?" asked Resmo.
"We each get one cup of a beverage of choice"
"That will make things more interesting, won't it Skip"
"Alright, a beverage of our choice. Hmm. I'll take some strawberry fizz"
"And I'll take some of that cordial"
Inka had already made a choice. "Honeyed milk please"
They where all given bowls of hotroot soup and their drinks. Widdia and Buddy knew what was going to happen.
Gurrer, who was judging the contest, stepped forward. "On ee marks, get set, go!"
They started. Inka ate her whole bowl before taking the first sip of her milk while Resmo and Skipper were half done their bowls and had almost finished their drinks. When she did take a drink she only took a sip, held it in her mouth for a few seconds and then swallowed. When Skipper and Resmo saw this they tried to follow the example but soon drained their cups. They where both almost their fifth bowls when they both dived for an open cask of strawberry fizz.
Inka finished her seventh before draining her milk and announced, "I'm done". A loud applause followed. Neera and Iris stared in amazement before asking at the same time "How did you do that?"
Inka pointed to the empty milk cup "It's the milk. A trick I learned really. Now if you excuse me I am going to empty that cask with Skipper and Resmo"
"Betcha, I can beat them both"
Iris seemed surprised. "When I said deadlock I meant deadlocked in first. You can never beat them"
Inka called across the table "Hey, guys, bet I can beat you at your little hotroot soup contest"
Resmo and Skipper laughed. "What makes you think you can beat us?" asked Skipper.
"No harm in trying" replied Inka "What are the rules?"
"It's very simple. Your just eat as much hotroot soup till you can't anymore"
"Can I make a small change?"
"What?" asked Resmo.
"We each get one cup of a beverage of choice"
"That will make things more interesting, won't it Skip"
"Alright, a beverage of our choice. Hmm. I'll take some strawberry fizz"
"And I'll take some of that cordial"
Inka had already made a choice. "Honeyed milk please"
They where all given bowls of hotroot soup and their drinks. Widdia and Buddy knew what was going to happen.
Gurrer, who was judging the contest, stepped forward. "On ee marks, get set, go!"
They started. Inka ate her whole bowl before taking the first sip of her milk while Resmo and Skipper were half done their bowls and had almost finished their drinks. When she did take a drink she only took a sip, held it in her mouth for a few seconds and then swallowed. When Skipper and Resmo saw this they tried to follow the example but soon drained their cups. They where both almost their fifth bowls when they both dived for an open cask of strawberry fizz.
Inka finished her seventh before draining her milk and announced, "I'm done". A loud applause followed. Neera and Iris stared in amazement before asking at the same time "How did you do that?"
Inka pointed to the empty milk cup "It's the milk. A trick I learned really. Now if you excuse me I am going to empty that cask with Skipper and Resmo"