There once was an oyster
Whose story I tell
Who found that some sand
Had got into his shell.

It was only a grain
but it gave him great pain.
For oysters have feelings
Although they're so plain.

Now, did he berate
the harsh workings of fate
that had brought him
To such a deplorable state?

Did he curse at the government
Cry for election
And claim that the sea should
Have given him protection?

'No,' he said to himself
As he lay on a shell
Since I cannot remove it
I shall try to improve it.

Now the years have rolled around
As the years always do
And he came to his ultimate
Destiny ­ stew.

And the small grain of sand
That had bothered him so
Was a beautiful pearl
All richly aglow.

Now the tale has a moral
for isn't it grand
What an oyster can do
With a morsel of sand?

What couldn't we do
If we'd only begin
With some of the things
That get under our skin.

- Unknown