SURPRISE FOR BOY

Hokitika Guardian, 26 July 1933, Page 7

SURPRISE FOR BOY

SHELLFISH GRIPS TONGUE. DIFFICULTY IN REMOVAL. AUCKLAND, July 22. Curiosity caused a boy of nine years to undergo a painful experience in a Grafton residence recently, when his tongue was seized by a large deep-sea mussel. The boy’s mother had purchased a number of the shellfish at a Newton shop, and preparations were being made for cooking the mussels. TSie boy singled out a particularly large specimen, and decided to taste it l in its raw state. The mussel thereupon clamped itself firmly on the boy’s tongue. Neighbours were not long left unaware of something unusual, for the boy’s cries o,' pain could be heard for some distance. Gentle persuasion by many willing hands did not make the mussel loosen its grip, and, after a few minutes of commotion, during which the boy continufed to protest loudly, one neighbour hit upon a solution of the problem. He obtained ,a screwdriver, and, using it as a lever, he prised the mussel off the tongue, which was extremely painful and d’scoloured. The bov did not have mussels for his evening meal.