THE FIRST PAPER-MAKERS 
“Hear! Hear, folks!” Alice proclaimed, 
rapping smartly on the table, as one who must 
have instant attention. “ This is an S. O. S. call. 
Miss King has given me the hardest subject for 
a composition: 4 The First Paper-Makers/ and I 
can’t find a thing about them in the encyclopedia, 
though there is oodles about paper. Fancy, if 
you can, what it would mean to do without paper! 
I could write a good theme on that, but —who 
ever made the first paper anyway ? ” 
44 The Chinese, if you are referring to the 
product of man,” Auntie replied, 44 but I imagine 
Miss King had in mind the real founders of the 
art—the hornets.” 
44 To be sure she did,” Tommy spoke up 
quickly. 44 1 was telling her about our hunt for 
Nature’s craftsmen just the other day, and she 
said she would love to help. But the hornets the 
first paper-makers! Say! I know something 
about their work. Why haven’t we thought of 
them before? ” 
44 Principally because we have not put on our 
thinking caps, I fancy,” Miss Merryhew smiled. 
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