Editing The Pearl (novella) (section)

== Plot ==
[[File:La Paz en Baja California Sur.svg|thumb|[[La Paz, Baja California Sur]]]]
Kino, a poor [[pearl hunting|pearl fisherman]], lives with his wife Juana and their infant son Coyotito in [[La Paz, Baja California Sur]]. Kino sees a [[scorpion]] crawl down one of the ropes holding up the hanging box that serves as Coyotito's crib and tries to remove it. However, Coyotito shakes the rope, causing the scorpion to fall into the box and sting him. Kino and Juana visit the local doctor but are turned away because of their poverty and his prejudices toward [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Amerindians]].

As Juana applies a seaweed poultice to the sting, Kino dives for [[oyster]]s from his canoe, hoping to find a pearl valuable enough to cover the treatment fee. One oyster yields an immense pearl, which he calls "The Pearl of the World"; news of its discovery spreads quickly, and some of the family's neighbors start to resent Kino's luck in finding it. Unaware of these reactions, Kino envisions selling the pearl and using the money to improve his family's lives. The doctor visits them to treat Coyotito, even though the baby seems to be recovering, and Kino promises to pay him after selling the pearl.

That night, Kino drives off a thief who attempts to break into his house. Juana warns him that the pearl will destroy the family, but Kino insists that it is their only chance for a better life. He goes to sell it the next day, not knowing that all the pearl dealers in La Paz are working for a single buyer and conspiring to keep prices low. Pretending that Kino's pearl is of poor quality, they make offers of 1,500 pesos at most; he angrily rejects them, believing the pearl to be worth 50,000 pesos, and vows to sell it in the capital instead.

More thieves attack Kino that night, but he remains resolved to make the journey despite Juana's warning that the pearl is evil and her suggestions to get rid of it. After Kino forcibly stops her from throwing it into the ocean, he is attacked again; Kino kills one man in self-defense, and he and Juana hurriedly flee with Coyotito to avoid any reprisals. Discovering that Kino's canoe has been damaged and their house looted and burned in search of the pearl, the family takes refuge with Kino's brother and his wife before setting out for the capital the following night.

As they travel, Kino spots a trio of men following them and Juana realizes that they are trackers intending to take the pearl and kill the entire family. Leaving the road they have been using, Kino leads Juana into the mountains in order to leave fewer signs of their passage. They take shelter in a cave, only for the trackers to make camp by a pool of water below them. Kino decides to attack the trio that night, viewing it as the only way they can stop the pursuers for good. As Kino sneaks down the cliff, one of the trackers hears a cry and fires his rifle in its direction, thinking it to be a coyote pup. Kino kills all three men, then discovers that the shot has killed Coyotito.

Kino and Juana return to La Paz with their son's body. After looking at the pearl one last time and seeing its surface reflect images of all the disasters that have befallen him and his family, Kino throws it into the ocean.