The teacher took a narrow strip of red paper, and she pasted the two ends together, making a little ring. Then she slipped another narrow strip of paper, colored green, inside the first red ring and she fastened the ends of the second strip together, making a second ring, right inside the first, like a watch chain. And so she went on until she had about forty-sixteen rings all fastened together, and that was a paper chain.
"Now you try to make one," said the owl teacher, and all the animal children did. Susie Littletail, the rabbit, made a very fine chain of the most beautiful colors, and her brother Sammie made two paper chains, while the Bushytail squirrel brothers made some yellow chains that looked like gold.
"You may each take some paper with you," spoke the teacher when school was nearly over, "and make some chains at home."
So they all went up to her desk to get the paper, but Jacko Kinkytail, the red boy monkey, was a little late because he couldn't get his book strap fastened. And all there was left for him was some black paper. All the pretty colored pieces had been given away.
"Never mind," said the teacher, kindly, "I'm sure Jacko will make a very good black paper chain. Now school is over. Run home."
So they all ran home. Suddenly Jumpo Kinkytail happened to think that his mamma had told him to go to the store on his way from school, and bring her a yeast cake.
"Will you come with me?" Jumpo asked his brother.
"Oh, I don't want to," answered Jacko. "But I'll wait here in the woods for you."
"All right," said Jumpo, so off he started to the store.
Well, Jacko sat down on a hollow stump, taking good care not to fall in it and get his long tail all tangled up. He had his squares of black paper with him, and also a pair of scissors and some paste which the teacher had given him.