"Let's see who can kick it the farthest," said the duck boy.
So he tried, and he kicked it about as far as from a stick of peppermint candy to the place where the ice cream cones grew on the cocoanut tree. Then it was Jacko's turn.
The red monkey put the football down on the ground. Then he took a little run and he pushed the ball as hard as he could with one foot and also with his tail. Away it sailed as far as from the ice cream soda fountain store down to the place where the man sells hot peanuts at five cents a bag.
"That was a fine kick!" cried Sammie Littletail, the rabbit boy, who came along just then. "A most dandy kick."
"Yes, but Jacko used his tail besides his foot to kick with, and I can't do that," said Jimmie, sort of sad-like.
"Perhaps what I did wasn't just fair," admitted Jacko. "Never mind, after school we'll have a good football game. We'll go down by our house and play, so that my brother, who is sick with the toothache, can look out of the window and watch us. Then he won't think so much of his pain."
Well, the boy animals thought this was a good plan, so when school was out they hurried with Jacko to the monkey-house. Then they began to play football. They kicked the ball all around, up one side, down the other, through the middle, and sometimes even sideways. And the ball never said a word, nor so much as winked its eyes.
"Now, for a big, long kick!" suddenly cried Jacko, when he got a chance. "I believe I can almost kick that ball to the end of the rainbow." Of course, there wasn't any rainbow there at the time, but Jacko just said that for fun.
Johnnie Bushytail, the squirrel boy, suddenly rushed at Jacko, trying to kick the ball before the monkey boy could do so, but Jacko was too quick for Johnnie, and kicked it first. Away sailed the ball, farther than ever, and then something happened. The football went right over a high, steep, straight-up-and-down hill, and fell into a big hole on the other side.
"Oh, there goes my ball!" cried Jimmie Wibblewobble, and he tried not to cry, though he felt very much like it.