Field guide No. 1211
The crab’s giant molted shell
Outgrown, and left on the premises.
In a glass tank a crab stands beside a huge pale shell much larger than itself, the shed skin it climbed out of. It has left behind a larger version of itself, and has not looked back.
Field noteA shed shell dwarfs the crab that climbed out of it. Outgrown, and left on the premises.
Also possible, also breaking scale
Growing proseFlower beds take root in any trough. Tiny gardeners are a model-railway habit.
Night shift at the staplerDiners already come shaped like coffee pots and hot dogs. A stapler was only a matter of time.
Tiny drum machine drives colossal pistonsDrum machines drive speakers. This little one runs a hall of giant pistons on its beat.
Ocean in the subway vending machineA storm-tossed sea runs behind the glass with sand spilling from the slot; exact change, rough seas.