Once upon a time, there was a colorful town with 11 houses, each painted a different color: purple, pink, one (as in the number), orange, brown, blue, red, green, yellow, grey, and white. The residents of the town, who were all different shades of black, loved to play together but they noticed something peculiar. Every day, the color of the houses would change! They couldn't figure out why this was happening until one day, they discovered a mischievous paint monster who loved to switch up the colors of the houses every night.

The townspeople decided to work together to catch the paint monster. They came up with a plan to paint each house a new color every day so the monster wouldn't know which house to switch. The paint monster was so confused by the constantly changing colors that he finally gave up and disappeared forever.

From that day on, the town was always filled with a rainbow of colors and the townspeople lived happily ever after, playing together and admiring their beautifully painted homes.

Reflections

• What do you think was the paint monster's motive for changing the colors of the houses?
• Do you think the townspeople's decision to change the colors of the houses every day was a good one? Why or why not?
• Which house color was your favorite in the story? Why?
• If you were a resident of the town, which color would you have painted your house and why?