High up in a fluffy white cloud, a tiny snowflake was born. Her name was Sparkle, and she shimmered like a little star.
Sparkle had six delicate arms and was very pretty. But she was scared to fall to the ground.
"It's warm down there," she whispered to her snowflake sisters. "I'll melt and disappear forever!"
"Don't be scared!" laughed the other snowflakes. "We'll fall together!"
But Sparkle shivered and hid deeper in the cloud.
One day, the wind blew so hard that Sparkle couldn't hide. She tumbled down with thousands of other snowflakes.
"Oh no!" she squeaked. "I'm going to melt!"
Down and down she went, until she landed on something soft and warm. It was a little girl's mitten.
"I'm on the ground now," Sparkle whispered. "Any second I'll disappear…"
But then she heard a voice.
"Mummy, look! What a beautiful snowflake! It's like a star!"
The little girl, Lily, held up her mitten with joy. Her eyes sparkled with happiness.
"It's truly lovely," smiled her mum. "See, sweetheart, every snowflake is special. No two are alike."
"I want to draw one just like it!" cried Lily, and she ran inside.
Sparkle lay on the mitten, amazed. She had made the little girl happy! That was important!
Inside the warm room, Lily took off her mitten. Sparkle felt her arms begin to melt. But now she wasn't scared at all.
"I made the little girl happy," Sparkle whispered. "That's my purpose."
She turned into a tiny drop of water. But Lily sat at the table, painting with white paint on blue paper.
"Look, Mummy! This is my star-snowflake!" she showed her drawing.
And even though Sparkle was no longer a snowflake, her beauty stayed on the paper. She lived in the drawing, in Lily's smile, in warm memories.
The next winter, when snowflakes fell again, Lily ran outside and caught them happily. She looked at each one and wondered at how special it was.
Because now she knew something important. She carefully lifted each snowflake on her mitten, admired it for a few seconds, and then, smiling, let it go. So other children could see the little miracle too.