There Once Was An Oyster

Thanks to Jill Gordon, who sent this reading to me!

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 shelf
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?

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