"Do they have oysters in Siam?" one of the boys asked.
"Oysters grow in the Gulf of Siam," was the reply; "but they are not equal to those of the Atlantic coast of the United States. As for that matter, no oysters in any part of the world can or do equal ours; at least in the opinion of residents of the United States. Here in the East Indies they have some very large oysters; there is one variety that often attains a weight of three hundred pounds; it is not good for anything, however, and you never hear a man in a restaurant calling for a dozen of this variety on the half-shell.
"Naturalists have described about sixty varieties of oysters in different parts of the world, and it is said that more than two hundred species of fossil oysters have been found by geologists. Most of these forms are now extinct, and, therefore, we have no way of determining whether all of them have been good to eat or otherwise. It is often remarked that the first man who ate an oyster must have been very brave, and it is a pity that his name has not come down to us. One version of the story is that he thrust his fingers into an open shell which he saw lying on the sea-shore; the oyster was angry at this intrusion, and immediately closed on the fingers, very much to the man's astonishment. It required a great deal of wrenching to liberate them from the shell, and they were somewhat injured in the operation; the man naturally put his fingers in his mouth to relieve the pain, and in so doing he learned the taste of the oyster. Having learned it, he immediately smashed the shell with a stone and devoured the contents, and he continued to eat oysters till he had made a hearty meal. Always after that, when he was hungry, he went to the oyster-bank and satisfied his appetite, and from being thin as a skeleton he grew fat and rosy. His neighbors noted the change, and one day when he was proceeding stealthily to his favorite retreat they watched him and found his secret. When it was once out, the news spread with great rapidity, and thus was inaugurated the habit of eating the oyster. When this occurred no one knows; but the fact is that the ancient Romans and Greeks were fond of the oyster, and esteemed it greatly as an article of food.
"Another remarkable fact is—"
Before the Doctor could finish the sentence, Frank sprung to his feet in an excited manner, and pointed to a tree that stood not twenty feet from the bank of the river.
"See that great snake!" he shouted; "and see that squirrel in front of him!"
THE SNAKE AND THE SQUIRREL.