A childhood belief about plants

In my house we've always had a fig tree in our living room and when i was about 5 i noticed that if you pulled off a leaf or twig, a white liquid came out. After seeing me rip a few leaves off the tree to watch it 'bleed', my mother told me that if i touched the white stuff i would be poisoned and shrivel up like a prune. Seeing that my hands were covered in the stuff i instantly burst into tears, imagining myself slowly drying up into a human raisin and how i wouldnt live to see another day of kindergarden. Thankfully i survived, but i was convinced from then on that if i so much as came in contact with the fig tree again i would surely become a prune!