Ollie the octopus was a very happy octopus. He lived in a beautiful coral reef and loved to collect shiny, colorful shells. He had a whole cave full of them! Red shells, blue shells, swirly shells, and even a few that sparkled. Ollie thought they were the most wonderful things in the sea.
But Ollie didn’t like to share his shells. “These are *my* shells!” he’d say when his friends, Finley the fish and Shelly the seahorse, would ask to play with them. He’d carefully arrange them, and then rearrange them again, all by himself.
One sunny morning, Finley and Shelly were building a magnificent sandcastle. “Ollie,” called Finley, “would you like to help? We could decorate it with shells!” Ollie peeked out of his cave. He really wanted to help, but he didn’t want to share his shells.
He hesitated. Shelly noticed Ollie looking sad. “What’s wrong, Ollie?” she asked gently. Ollie mumbled, “I… I don’t want to share my shells. They’re special.”
Shelly smiled. “But playing *together* makes things even more special! Imagine how beautiful the sandcastle would be with everyone’s help.” Finley added, “And we can find some new shells together too!”
Ollie thought about this. He slowly swam over to his friends, carrying a small pile of his prettiest shells. He carefully placed a sparkly shell on top of the tallest tower. It looked amazing!
Finley and Shelly cheered. They all worked together, decorating the sandcastle with shells, seaweed, and colorful pebbles. Ollie discovered that playing with his friends and sharing his shells was much more fun than playing alone.
When the sandcastle was finished, it was the most beautiful sandcastle in the whole reef! Ollie, Finley, and Shelly sat back to admire their creation. Ollie realized that sharing didn’t make his shells less special; it made playtime more special.
From that day on, Ollie always shared his shells with his friends. He learned that kindness and generosity make everyone happier. And every night, as he drifted off to sleep in his cozy cave, Ollie dreamed of building even more magnificent sandcastles with his best friends.