A bored Jim, who is basically a good boy, is caught carving his initials into his desk by his teacher. He is sent to speak to Mr. Edmonds, the principal. Jim is apologetic and offers to sand and refinish the desk, but Mr. Edmonds gets Jim to try and understand why he did what he did. He also uses an analogy, an extreme example, to make it clear that what Jim did was childish, albeit not intentionally. Mr. Edmonds is hoping that Jim will grow up enough from this experience to make the decision of what to do with the pencil he used to make the carving, the pencil which is a prized possession of his.