Dr. Seuss on the Loose

The first story in the collection tells of a group of yellow bird-like creatures called the Sneetches, some of whom have a green star on their bellies. At the beginning of the story, Sneetches with stars discriminate against and shun those without. An entrepreneur named Sylvester McMonkey McBean (calling himself the Fix-It-Up Chappie) appears and offers the Sneetches without stars the chance to get them with his Star-On machine, for three dollars. The treatment is instantly popular, but this upsets the original star-bellied Sneetches, as they are in danger of losing their special status. McBean then tells them about his Star-Off machine, costing ten dollars, and the Sneetches who originally had stars happily pay the money to have them removed in order to remain special. However, McBean does not share the prejudices of the Sneetches and allows the recently starred Sneetches through this machine as well. Ultimately this escalates, with the Sneetches running from one machine to the next...

"...until neither the Plain nor the Star-Bellies knew

whether this one was that one... or that one was this one...

or which one was what one... or what one was who."

This continues until the Sneetches are penniless and McBean departs as a rich man, amused by their folly. Despite his assertion that "you can't teach a Sneetch", the Sneetches learn from this experience that neither plain-belly nor star-belly Sneetches are superior, and they are able to get along and become friends.

In The Zax, a North-going Zax and a South-going Zax meet face to face on the Prairie of Prax. Each asks the other to make way, but neither budges, saying it is against their upbringing to move any other way. Because they stubbornly refuse to move (east, west, or any direction except their respective headings) to get past each other, the two Zax then face off against each other with their arms crossed. The Zax stand so long that eventually, they realize that the world didn't stand still, and a highway overpass is built around them. The story ends with the Zax still standing there "unbudged" in their tracks.

In Green Eggs and Ham, Sam-I-Am pesters Guy-Am-I to eat a plate of green eggs and ham. However, Guy refuses while responding, "I do not like green eggs and ham. I do not like them, Sam-I-Am." He repeats similar responses while Sam persistently follows him, asking him to eat them in eight locations (House, box, car, tree, train, dark, rain, and boat) and with three animals (Mouse, fox, and goat), but he still refuses. Finally, in exasperation, Guy vainly accepts the offer, samples the green eggs and ham, happily announcing he would eat them anywhere and with anyone, and ends the story, saying, “I do so like green eggs and ham. Thank you. Thank you, Sam-I-Am.”