– By KATHY ELISCU

Special to the Maine Sunday Telegram

Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!

Actually, it’s a preserved cougar, an alligator hide and a python skin. And a full-size gorilla that greets you from above when you walk through the front door.

Not exactly what you’d expect when entering a gift shop? Welcome to Perry’s Nut House.

Located on U.S. Route 1 in Belfast, it is more than a gift shop and more than a purveyor of tasty homemade fudge, fresh nuts, candies, and snack foods. It is an experience.

A Maine icon since its doors first opened in 1927, its original owner, I.L. Perry, had an eye for collecting unusual items from around the world. Over the years, many of the collectibles were auctioned off. Perry’s Nut House has been family-owned by five different families, and when current owners George and Ellen Darling purchased Perry’s in 2004, they bought back many of the original items.

Kim O’Brien, the Darlings’ daughter, is general manager, and led me through a wonderfully fun tour of this multi-roomed shop, which displays so many fascinating oddities amongst the gifties. An albatross, on loan from the Belfast Historical Society and Museum, has been housed at the store since 1952, never leaving its glass cage. A life-size figure (“Mr. Salt”) sits inside an outhouse, chatting to passers-by. Around every turn is a surprise that delights adults as well as children.

Perry’s offers a wide variety of retail items: clothing, wind chimes, T-shirts and socks, jams (including four flavors of their own), toys, coffee cups, cooking items, cookbooks, Moose Poops (chocolate covered cranberries), travel mugs, cookie jars, holiday ornaments, “collectible” Audubon stuffed birds with real bird calls, Indian headdresses, children’s books, personalized placemats and puzzles, gifts for all age groups, and toys, toys, toys!

And there are plenty of Maine-made items, like Strawberry Hill Farms maple syrup, repurposed bird feeders (each unique) produced by QD Loon, Castine candles and heirloom quality wooden toys by Toymaker of Maine. There are funhouse-type mirrors when you least expect it, and enough novelty items to keep you busy for a very long time. Backscratcher? Got it. Pirate paraphernalia? Got it. Whoopee cushion? Yup.

One of the most popular items? Says O’Brien: “Stink bombs.” All this, in a setting that boasts a huge Cigar Store Indian, and glass cases with historical items from the Belfast Cigar company, Perry’s original business at this location.

It’s my story and I’ll sample if I want to.

Now let’s talk fudge. There are between 24 and 28 flavors at any one time, all homemade. Most flavors are available year-round, but there is some seasonal variation, such as summer flavors and the popular “divinity” at Christmastime.

Whoopee pie fudge is in stock all the time. My favorite? Chocolate peanut butter. I had to drag myself away from the counter. That’s right. I dragged myself away from the fudge and directly over to the nuts, which O’Brien states are of “extremely high quality” and they were, indeed, delicious and very fresh tasting. Snack mixes and candies come in from New England vendors.

As you leave, goodies in hand, take a moment to snap a few shots of your companions standing with “Old Salt,” the bigger-than-life yellow rain-coated lobsterman who greeted you. Tell him I’ll be back.

Perry’s Nut House is open daily most of the year; reduced schedule January to March.. Call 338-1630 or visit www.perrysnuthouse.com.

Kathy Eliscu is a freelance writer who lives in Westbrook.