One Man’s Meat is Another Man’s Poison

更新：2023-11-22

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[00:01.47]Lesson 23
[00:03.72]One man's meat is another man's poison
[00:13.82]What was it about snails that made the writer collect them for his friend on that day in particular?
[00:22.15]People become quite illogical when they try to decide what can be eaten and what cannot be eaten.
[00:29.86]If you lived in the Mediterranean, for instance, you would consider octopus a great delicacy.
[00:36.79]You would not be able to understand why some people find it repulsive.
[00:41.78]On the other hand, your stomach would turn at the idea of frying potatoes in animal fat - the normally accepted practice in many northern countries.
[00:51.81]The sad truth is that most of us have been brought up to eat certain foods and we stick to them all our lives.
[01:00.10]No creature has received more praise and abuse than the common garden snail.
[01:06.25]Cooked in wine, snails are a great luxury in various parts of the world.
[01:12.43]There are countless people who, ever since their early years, have learned to associate snails with food.
[01:19.54]My friend, Robert, lives in a country where snails are despised.
[01:25.71]As his flat is in a large town, he has no garden of his own.
[01:30.93]For years he has been asking me to collect snails from my garden and take them to him.
[01:37.44]The idea never appealed to me very much, but one day, after a heavy shower, I happened to be walking in my garden when I noticed a huge number of snails taking a stroll on some of my prize plants.
[01:51.26]Acting on a sudden impulse, I collected several dozen, put them in a paper bag, and took them to Robert.
[01:59.43]Robert was delighted to see me and equally pleased with my little gift.
[02:04.36]I left the bag in the hall and Robert and I went into the living room where we talked for a couple of hours.
[02:11.50]I had forgotten all about the snails when Robert suddenly said that I must stay to dinner.
[02:17.71]Snails would, of course, be the main dish.
[02:21.48]I did not fancy the idea and I reluctantly followed Robert out of the room.
[02:27.04]To our dismay,
[02:28.37]we saw that there were snails everywhere:
[02:31.29]they had escaped from the paper bag
[02:33.62]and had taken complete possession of the hall
[02:36.88]I have never been able to look at a snail since then.