Did he hope to protect himself from the malignancies of his day, from animals better armed (and toothed) than he? Did he think the shell made some kind of connection between him and whatever (or whoever) made the river fat with fish?
Or, when he plastered that shell onto his great hairy chest, was he pinning a pearl in his ascot? As he looked down, chin on chest, did he think it beautiful, or did he think he was now beautiful?"
GEMS Mab Wilson 1967
