The friend of a young woman has just returned from a trip overseas, and has brought with her a collection of gifts. The friend knows that the woman is very interested in plants and botany, and so she's made a special effort and brought the woman a rare type of cactus. Soon after her return they meet up, and the woman is delighted with her gift. She places it proudly on the mantelpiece.
A few weeks pass. The woman duly looks after her new cactus, watering it occasionally, and making sure it gets enough sun to grow. Then one day she notices something strange about it. She's not entirely certain, but it looks as though the skin of the cactus is moving very slightly. It's bulging out in some places, shifting.
Worried, the woman calls up her friend and tells her what she saw. The friend is deeply alarmed. "I've heard of this happening before," she tells the woman. "You've got to get it out of the house, quickly."
The woman wastes no time. She grabs the cactus and carries it outside. She's only just set it down in her garden when the plant bursts open. Something shiny and black pours out in a tide. At first it looks like liquid, but then the woman sees that it's moving, and she realises that it is in fact thousands and thousands of tiny scorpions.
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