石头壳,金子心.docVIP

石头壳,金子心 　　I never intended to get a tortoise… I was in a troubled relationship with a man who was the opposite of me in almost every way， until we discovered we both wanted a pet. We thought we’d finally found some common ground. I was allergic to dogs and cats， so we 1）scouted for other possibilities at the pet store. I pointed to a crowded tank， a glossy shell and a pair of orange ringed eyes. 　　“This is what you want？” he asked doubtfully. 　　I nodded. 　　We named the tortoise Minnie， and by the time we realized she was a he， after an 2）eye-popping male display， the name had stuck. 　　How could I not love this strange little creature， especially when he clacked his jaw as if he were speaking and drew up his long， lovely neck to sniff the air？ 　　I bathed him in the sink. I hand-fed him 3）avocado， wiggling it so he would think it was live food. I even kissed his shell. 　　“You’re a little obsessive about him，” my boyfriend accused. “It isn’t normal.” 　　The more time I spent discovering the tortoise， the more my boyfriend uncovered things about me he didn’t like. My friends were now too loud， and why couldn’t I trade my jeans for something more feminine， with a 4）flounce？ It wasn’t long before I broke up with him， and Minnie and I moved to a small apartment in Chelsea. 　　Every night I would take Minnie out of the tank， put him on the table and tell him about my day. Sometimes I’d cry because I was lonely. But Minnie always seemed to listen and clack his jaws at just the right time. At night， when I woke up， all I had to do was look across the room and there he was， Buddha in a shell， wise and deeply comforting. 　　I couldn’t bear another relationship where I was forced to be someone I wasn’t. “You’re odd，” my ex had told me.“All you want to do is watch movies， read books and play with Minnie.” He meant it as a 5）rebuke， but I kept thinking： what was wrong with that kind of 6）nirvana？ 　　Then I met Jeff， a smart， funny journalist who took me to a toy store for