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Lobster, and Crab

In general physical composition the Lobster (Homaris vulgaris), and the sea shore Crab (Cancer pagurus), are practically identical, being crustacean, with a skeleton formed mainly of "chitin," a peculiar gelatin sparingly soluble in the stomach. Also in its shell the lobster owns a resinous substance, brownish-green until boiled, and then turning to a bright red. This gives a particular odour and taste to lobster broth. The flesh of a lobster contains much soluble gelatin. Butler in his Hudibras makes use of this creature for a simile : "The sun had long since in the lap Of Thetis taken out his nap, And, like a lobster boiled, the morn From black to red began to turn."

Nevertheless when Alice in Wonderland stood up before the Gryphon to repeat a nursery rhyme, she told a somewhat different story: