“Well,” said Red. “I wish I was still tall like you!
Sometimes I get tired of coloring so much,
and getting sharpened gives me a headache.
Now, I’m so stubby that I can’t even see
outside of the pencil box.

I would give anything to be tall again like you.”

16

“As far as the friend thing goes,
even having just one good friend
can make a big difference.

But Brown, you have to know how to be
a good friend in order to make friends.

You can start by figuring out a way
to be your own best friend.

You can’t expect the other colors
to like you if you don’t like yourself.”

“There’s not much to like,” I said.

17

“Well, I see lots to like:

You’re tall.

You’re sharp,

and you get to be Brown!

Lucky you!!”

“How is being Brown lucky?”

“Brown is a very special color.
Once you realize that,
you’ll have more pencil friends
than you know what to do with.
And you just can’t have too many friends!”

18

I went to talk to Black.

“Red says I’m special because I’m Brown.”

“That you are,” said Black.

“Why?” I asked.

“Haven’t you noticed that when all of us are mixed together we make Brown?
You are a combination of all the colors. You just don’t realize it yet,
but you have everything inside you that it takes to be a great friend.”

19

“Your Black can look out for all of us.
Your Yellow can show us what’s right.
Your Purple can give us all hopes and dreams,
and your can help us not fight.”

20

“Your Dark Green can be very trustworthy.
Your Pink can listen to everyone.
Your Light Green will always be honest,
and your Orange can help us have fun.

Your Blue can give us great hugs
whenever we’re feeling down.
Your Red can do things with all of us.
See, you have it all, Brown!”

21

“Use all of the colors you’re made of,
And learn to like yourself.
Develop a sense of humor.
It’s good for pencil health.

Respect the rights of others.
Show empathy and be kind.
Be friendly and don’t complain.
It will work for you every time.”

22

I tried doing everything that Black told me to do,
and guess what?

It really worked!

First of all, I made a promise to myself
to stop putting other pencils down.

No putdowns!

23

I tried to smile at everyone whenever I got the chance,
and I didn’t even complain when
Yellow told me to straighten up in the box.