Charlie is a nice boy. He enjoys frolicking in the playground, building model aeroplanes, baking gingerbread biscuits with his parents, and inventing games of all sorts with his friends.
This was Charlieās first year of school. Right at the start, he became friends with Toby, the boy who sat next to him. The two of them laughed so much together!
Tobyās birthday was fast approaching, and of course he would be inviting Charlie to his party. āThereāll be a giant chocolate cake with a digger on top made of icing! And my mum will be making us the best milkshakes in the world!ā Toby told his pal excitedly.
But Charlie didnāt seem very pleased to hear it. On the contrary, he looked rather embarrassed. Toby was disappointed by his reaction, and a little confused.
āWhatās up, Charlie? Donāt you like chocolate cake and milkshakes?ā
āItās not that, Toby. Itās just that I, I ā¦ā Charlie didnāt quite know how to answer him.
The truth is that Charlieās allergic to milk, cocoa, and nuts. Ever since he was a toddler, heās had to be extra careful about what he eats ā avoiding things like nut bars, pastries that contain milk, and anything made of chocolate.
These restrictions hadnāt bothered Charlie at all at first (when he had no idea what those things tasted like or how much other people liked them). For a sweet treat at home, heād happily munch on fresh fruit or dried fruit, or any number of goodies that he and his parents had come up with in the recipe books.
But after a while, Charlie began to suspect that he was missing-out and became frustrated. One day he decided to taste some chocolate, just to check if the allergy had by chance ā¦
