"Pearls of Wisdom" is an episode of the Playhouse Disney series Stanley.
Summary[]
Stanley wants to hide from Lionel when his day at the beach doesn't go as planned.
Plot[]
The Griffs are all spending an entire day at the beach. Stanley is very excited while Dennis is happy to just relax in his bowl. Stanley’s mom hands him his favorite peanut butter and banana sandwich. But just when Stanley is prepared to eat it, Lionel runs out to the ocean, accidentally kicking sand all over Stanley’s sandwich. With it being unable to eat, Stanley decides to go look for shells instead. After collecting a bunch, Stanley lays them out on a towel and shows Dennis. Just then, Lionel comes in and uses the towel to dry off, not noticing the shells on it. Stanley begins getting pretty upset, so to cheer himself up, he decides to build a sandcastle. It looks impressive, but then Lionel crashes into it and knocks it down into a pile of dust.
By now, Stanley is very angry with Lionel messing things up for him and thinks he doesn’t care. After venting out his frustration, Dennis tells Stanley that he should tell Lionel how he feels, but Stanley refuses to talk to Lionel ever again. Meanwhile, he finds an oyster shell sitting in the sand. Dennis explains that the shells protect the soft body inside. Stanley thinks they have the right idea, thinking they don’t have to open up at all. But Dennis says that’s not the case. Even if they are closed, they still need little things to get inside in order to survive. To learn more, the two decide to look in the Great Big Book of Everything.
Upon looking in the book, they find that oysters are bivalves, meaning they have 2 shells connected together. They then go into the book and find themselves in the shallow waters of the shore. Stanley and Dennis find many oysters sitting on rocks, in which they spend their whole lives. Dennis says that it’s due to a strong muscle called an adductor, holding it closed very tightly. Stanley tries to open it up, but it doesn’t budge.
Stanley is a bit confused on how it’s able to survive by staying shut and sitting still. Dennis explains that oysters eat by having water filter inside (as much as 2-3 gallons per hour/72 gallons daily) through a small opening, and eats microorganisms (called plankton) and letting the water out. While oysters look closed, they are open just a bit. Once in a while, a small grain of sand goes in and acts as an irritant. Over years, the oyster builds layers around it, resulting in a pearl.
Dennis explains that even if the oyster seems closed, it still has to interact with the outside world. He goes on to say that just like how oysters need to open up a little, people do to, as they open up by using their words. Stanley finally gets the idea that he should tell Lionel how upset he is.
He goes back to the beach to talk to him. While still a bit hesitant, Stanley begins to tell Lionel how mad he is at him for wrecking his things. Lionel then apologizes and Stanley feels better now that they talked things out. The two of them then start building a sandcastle together, which was even bigger and better than the one before.
Cast[]
- David Landsberg as Dad
- Ariadne Meyers as Mom
- Rene Mujica as Harry
- Shawn Pyfrom as Lionel
- Charles Shaughnessy as Dennis
- Jessica D. Stone as Stanley
- Hynden Walch as Elsie
Featured Animals[]
- Oysters
Quotes[]
- Dennis: People can open up by talking. You know, communicating their feelings.
- Stanley: You mean like me telling Lionel about how I’m mad at him for being such a stinker?
- Dennis: Well perhaps I wouldn’t have used those exact words, but yes.
Trivia[]
- Morals:
- Even when having fun, be mindful of what you’re doing, so you don’t mess things up for others.
- When something/someone opens up a little, something good can come from it.
- If you’re upset with someone, talk to them directly and tell them how you feel.
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