 The Selfish Shelfish by Richard Updike, illustrated by Kajaya Jacobs. Seymour was a selfish shellfish. That's a crab to you and me. He let no other creatures enter his kingdom by the sea. There he lived all by himself, behind walls both thick and high. Clinging to his seaside wealth, his only visitor was the tide. One day a huge wave hit the beach and his castle was no more. All that he'd kept out of reach lay scattered on the shore. Seymour never had any friends who could help rebuild his home. So he sat so sad on the sand and felt so all alone. But one young crab knew he could help, though Seymour had been mean. So he set right out to make things well and gathered up a team. Soon crab scuttled on castle floors as the sand began to take form. But now Seymour wanted many doors for all shellfish to come get warm. Smiling, Seymour asked his new friend why they helped him when he was blue. Because all of us need others, he said, and it makes us happy too.