The Curse of the Pearl

When money means more than friendship.

There was a pearl, a magic pearl; a pearl that had a curse.
The pearl was in a little box; the box was in a purse.
The purse was in a treasure chest, under lock and key,
And the chest was in a shipwreck at the bottom of the sea.

One day a fish was swimming past and gave the chest a knock,
This caused the chest to be dislodged and bang against a rock.
The lid was broken open and the purse began to float,
And it was spotted by a fisherman out sailing in his boat.

He saw the purse and pulled it in and took a look inside,
And when he saw the magic pearl his eye were open wide.
He thought the pearl would be the answer to his every wish,
And he'd no longer have to spend his days out trying to catch fish.

He took the treasure home with him and showed it to his wife.
They both agreed that this would be the changing of their life.
The people in the village heard about the couple's luck,
And they came around to wish them well and try to have a look.

But the woman and the fisherman had greed to great to measure,
And wondered if the villagers would try to steal their treasure.
So they put the pearl inside a box and locked it with a key,
And the little box was buried underneath a mango tree.

The couple said they'd wait till all the fuss had died away,
And they left the pearl beneath the tree for one year and a day.
When the year was over they went back to claim their prize,
But when they saw what happened they could not believe their eyes.

In the spot where they hid the pearl more than a year before,
There were now a thousand mango trees, or maybe even more!
They could not tell the one they chose from all the other trees,
And the couple started crying and they fell down to their knees.

So now the couple spend their time, most each and every day,
On hands and knees beneath the trees, digging up the clay.
They have a hole within their hearts that only wealth can fill,
But they haven't found their treasure yet; I doubt they ever will.

So the moral of this story, if you think I should explain,
Is that the couple lost their closest friends for monetary gain.
Money comes and money goes; true friends can't be replaced,
Be happy with the life you have, don't let it go to waste.

Reviews

[Beccy]

Not just a poem for children, the message goes out to us all; and you do it is such clever and gently chiding way.

Grand poetry indeed.

Beccy.

[A.R. Elvira]

This was great children's story, Baz. You use language that is easy to read (for children) and yet still holds great, moral substance. I love the imaginative idea of more mango tress growing - as it stops the couple from satisfying their greed and also demonstrates the good that can come of giving a treasure found back to the earth. Very well considered.

Perhaps think about the last paragraph, I personally find it a little too obvious, but this is only my opinion, and I do not have the same mind as the child that could be reading this. What I mean is that I just don't think you need to spell out the moral so clearly as a conclusion. You do such a beautiful job of subtly weaving emphasis of the moral throughout the story. You don't need to re iterate it, it ruins the magic for me. Perhaps you might like to simply cut it off, or edit the last paragraph so it's not so spelled out but still concludes the whole story nicely.

Otherwise, beautifully written. Well done!

[Dr. Wood ?]

Another goody, don't think I am being picky but 'and he would no longer have to spend his days out trying to catch fish' seems a tad too long....Good read though. I love story rhymes and I'll post some of mine sometime...well done!

[Shimmerbliss/CAF]

Great read and with a wonderful moral!

[Inyourshadow]

Typo too

Baz you never fail to amaze me, the first section with it's wreathing rhyme is perfection, the moral is truth personified.
Your childrens poetry rewritten into an Aesop fable
Keep em' coming

[.]

simply perfection...can't fault this. sharp, witty, metered, with a clever story and a moral..this all made to flow so easily..youre a master..

[Bare trees]

Great story and great message. Well done as usual Baz.

[Two Friends]

I enjoyed reading this...great imagery and everything.
Love it!!!!

[Manyfacets]

I love this it has such a wonderful flow and rhyming treatment. The imagery is so great as well. One can
actually visualize the couple on hand and knee digging their life away. Has a wonderful moral to it.
Well done!

[jasmine]

wow! that was just amazing! i think the most addictive thing in the world is money. you become greedy and all you want is more. you stpo caring about the much more important things in life and start caring about how much money you have. that was an excellent poem. well done.