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 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.