BY THE OYSTER

 Do you like oysters¹? I hope so. This is the oyster² season. In the summer months, when I am busy laying eggs I am not good to eat. We lay about two million eggs each season. My children are full grown when they are three years old. You are little more than a baby at that age.

 

I am called "fashionable" because I am not cheap like herring. I am considered quite a dainty.

 

I have no head. I have no feet. I have no teeth. But I have a mouth. My house is a hard shell made of two valves joined together by a hinge.

 

Of course you know that pearls come from oysters. Often men risk their lives in diving to the bottom of the ocean to get these precious gems³. Sharks are great enemies of the pearl divers⁴. The mother of pearl is the lining⁵ of the pearl oyster shell. Have any of you little chaps knives with handles made of mother of pearl?

 

Oh! I am an exciting fish, I am! Good night. Don't dream about me!

1 oysters   

牡蛎( oyster的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We don't have oysters tonight, but the crayfish are very good. 我们今晚没有牡蛎供应。但小龙虾是非常好。
• She carried a piping hot grill of oysters and bacon. 她端出一盘滚烫的烤牡蛎和咸肉。

2 oyster   

n.牡蛎；沉默寡言的人

参考例句：

• I enjoy eating oyster; it's really delicious.我喜欢吃牡蛎，它味道真美。
• I find I fairly like eating when he finally persuades me to taste the oyster.当他最后说服我尝尝牡蛎时，我发现我相当喜欢吃。

3 gems   

growth； economy； management； and customer satisfaction 增长

参考例句：

• a crown studded with gems 镶有宝石的皇冠
• The apt citations and poetic gems have adorned his speeches. 贴切的引语和珠玑般的诗句为他的演说词增添文采。

4 divers   

adj.不同的；种种的

参考例句：

• He chose divers of them,who were asked to accompany him.他选择他们当中的几个人，要他们和他作伴。
• Two divers work together while a standby diver remains on the surface.两名潜水员协同工作，同时有一名候补潜水员留在水面上。

5 lining   

n.衬里，衬料

参考例句：

• The lining of my coat is torn.我的外套衬里破了。
• Moss makes an attractive lining to wire baskets.用苔藓垫在铁丝篮里很漂亮。