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Once a little boy went to school. He was quite a little boy, and it was quite a big school. But when the little boy found that he could go to his room by walking right in from the door outside, he was happy and the school did not seem quite so big anymore.
One morning, when the little boy had been in school a while, the teacher said, “Today we are going to make a picture.” “Good,” thought the little boy. He liked to make pictures. He could make all kinds: lions and tigers, chickens and cows, trains and boats. And he took out his box of crayons and began to draw.
But the teacher said, “Wait! It is not time to begin.” And she waited until everyone looked ready. “Now,” said the teacher, “we are going to make flowers.” “Good” thought the little boy. He liked to make flowers. And he began to make beautiful ones with his pink and orange and blue crayons.
But the teacher said, “Wait! And I will show you how.” And it was red, with a green stem. “There,” said the teacher, “now, you may begin.”
The little boy looked at the teacher’s flower, then he looked at his own flower. He liked his flower better than the teacher’s, but he did not say this. He just turned the paper over and made a flower like the teacher’s. It was red, with a green stem.
Pretty soon, the little boy learned to wait, and to watch, and to make things just like the teacher. And pretty soon, he didn’t make things of his own anymore.
Then, it happened that the little boy and his family moved to another house in another city. And the little boy had to go to another school. The school was even bigger than the other one, and there was no door from the outside into his room. He had to fo up some big steps, and walk down a long hall to get to his room.
And the very first day he was there, the teacher said, “Today we are going to bake a picture.” “Good,” thought the little boy. And he waited for the teacher to tell him what to do. But the teacher didn’t say anything, she just walked around the room.
When she came to the little boy, she said, “Don’t you want to make a picture?”
“Yes,” said the little boy, “what are we going to make?”
“I don’t know until you make it,” said the teacher.
“How shall I make it?” asked the little boy.
“Why, any way you like,” said the teacher.
“And what color?” asked the little boy.
“Any color,” said the teacher, “If everyone made the same picture, and used the same colors, how would I know who made what, and which is which?”
“I don’t know,” said the little boy.
And he began to make a red flower with a green stem.
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