A Gift of the Sands by Julia Johnson
Driven by its desire to be acknowledged as the finest in the world, a pearl embarks on a long voyage of adventure. Washed into a rock pool and picked up by a passing gull, the pearl's hazardous journey begins - from the stomach of a red snapper to the gutter of a fish market and thence through town, country and desert. Confident throughout of its own beauty and worth, the pearl finally achieves its ambition.