Once upon a time, on a sunny beach where the waves lapped gently against the shore, there lived two groups of Sneetches. The Sneetches were small, round, and yellow creatures with funny little feet. They loved to play and have fun, but there was one big problem. Some Sneetches had green stars on their bellies, while others did not. The Star-Belly Sneetches thought they were the best and would not let the Plain-Belly Sneetches join in their games or parties. They looked down on the Plain-Belly Sneetches, saying, ¡°We¡¯re the best! We have stars on our bellies, and you don¡¯t!¡±

The Plain-Belly Sneetches felt very sad and left out. They wished and wished that they could have stars on their bellies too. One day, a clever and mischievous man named Sylvester McMonkey McBean arrived in a big, shiny machine. He saw the Sneetches and knew just how to make some money. He called out to the Plain-Belly Sneetches, ¡°Hey there! I can put stars on your bellies! For just three dollars each, you can be just like the Star-Belly Sneetches!¡±

The Plain-Belly Sneetches were overjoyed. They lined up and paid their money, and soon, they all had shiny green stars on their bellies. They ran to the Star-Belly Sneetches, hoping to finally be accepted. But the Star-Belly Sneetches were not happy. They said, ¡°Oh no! Now we need something to make us special again!¡± So, they went to Sylvester McMonkey McBean and asked him to take their stars off. He charged them ten dollars each and happily obliged.

The Plain-Belly Sneetches, who now had stars, laughed and played without the Star-Belly Sneetches. But soon, the Star-Belly Sneetches came back without stars, and the Plain-Belly Sneetches had to go to Sylvester McMonkey McBean to have their stars removed. This went on and on. The Sneetches kept running back and forth, paying more and more money to have stars put on and taken off their bellies.

One little Sneetch named Sally watched all this and felt very confused. She asked her mother, ¡°Why do we care so much about stars? Why can¡¯t we just play together?¡± Her mother sighed and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know, dear. It¡¯s just the way things have always been.¡±

But Sally wasn¡¯t satisfied. She decided to talk to all the Sneetches. She gathered them around and said, ¡°We¡¯re all Sneetches, with or without stars. Why should we let something as silly as a star decide who we can play with? We should all be friends and have fun together!¡± The Sneetches listened to Sally and realized she was right. They had been so busy worrying about stars that they had forgotten how much fun they could have together.

So, the Sneetches stopped going to Sylvester McMonkey McBean. They played games, built sandcastles, and had picnics together. The Star-Belly Sneetches and the Plain-Belly Sneetches became the best of friends. They learned that it didn¡¯t matter if you had a star on your belly or not. What mattered was kind being and enjoying each other¡¯s company.

And from that day on, the Sneetches lived happily ever after, playing and laughing together on their beautiful beach. They never let anything divide them again. And as the sun set over the ocean, the Sneetches snuggled up for bedtime, knowing that they were all special, with or without stars.