The Pearl Set in Stone!

  My son always tells me that I am easily amused.  I suppose he is right in most ways.  The simplest of things can hold me spellbound for a lengthy period of time.  This time it is a rock or, more precisely some sort of fossil.  While out in the garden, I uncovered the most unusual looking stone.  The thing seemed to be all lumpy and bumpy.  Curiosity got the best of me so I pocketed the stone so I could clean it for further examination.  Lumpy, bumpy rocks all require close examination!

  Once inside, I plunked said rock in a bowl of soapy water and went about my other chores.  After it sat there soaking for an hour or so, the rock was quite clean.  Wow!  It was a beautiful gemstone!  No...that was wishful thinking.  It  was still just a rock of some sort but it was infinitely more interesting than before.  (Like Michael said, I am easily amused!)  

  My rock had a number of swirls and whorls about it.  There were some huge crevasses (at least huge compared to the size of the rock.) and stuck in one was a tiny pebble.  The pearl-white pebble looked like it had been embedded like a jewel in a brooch. Ahh, now we are getting somewhere!  I knew exactly what my rock was!  It was a fossilized oyster with the pearl still embedded!  What? Don't you believe me?  

  Ok, ok, so I am ninety-nine percent sure that assumption is about as far off as can be but it does make for a grand story.  I am always on the lookout for some far-fetched tale that I can wield about the Bayou so my rock shall remain a "fossilized oyster".  I am quite sure that some gullible folks will fall for a tale of the "Pearl set in Stone" story if I just keep a straight face while telling it.  Which, according to some folks, I can do quite well when telling some tall tale!  And the rock goes in my collection of weird and wonderful Bayou Treasures!