The Paper

"**The Paper**" is a *Maggie Muffin* episode from season 1. In this episode, Maggie plays with Helen's bubble gum wrapper.

## Characters

* Helen Luggins
* Maggie Muffin
* Mr. Paper (single appearance)
* Strawberry the Octopus
* Kira Moonhead

## Synopsis

As the episode begins, Kira comes outside to start his relaxing day. He begins it by chewing bubble gum while laying in his lawn chair, and tosses the wrapper into Maggie's front yard. Maggie comes outside of his house as well, only to realize that Kira has dropped his wrapper on Maggie's yard. As Kira is about to leave at the sight of Maggie, the latter catches him on time to ask if he wants it back. Kira thinks it is only garbage, but Maggie states that in the right hands, it can be a goldmine of entertainment. Kira does not believe Maggie and walks inside his house. Maggie asks him again if he wants it back, but he still refuses to keep it and tells Maggie he can have it.

With a sigh of relief, Kira answers his ringing phone. When he answers it, it is actually Maggie asking if he is sure. Kira angrily says that he is and that Maggie can keep it forever. Kira hangs up the phone by slamming it, and starts panting from exhaustion. Maggie pops up from under the table the phone was on and asks Kira if he is really sure. Kira angrily tells him to get out of his house and finally pushes him out. Maggie says it is his last time to change his mind, and Kira tells Maggie one last time that he can keep it no matter how much he begs, pleads, or cries to have it back, and slams the door, so Maggie decides to keep that promise. After Kira is out of Maggie's sight, Maggie says to the paper that he is lucky to have a friend like Kira.

Kira is back inside his house to continue his planned, relaxing day. He hears Maggie's obnoxious laughter and begins to play his clarinet. He still hears Maggie's laughing and opens his window to ask Maggie what he is giggling about. Maggie apologizes and says that he is thinking about all the fun he is going to have with the paper. Kira goes back to his clarinet, wondering how anyone can have fun with a piece of paper. He starts to play his clarinet again, but is interrupted by Maggie's laughing.

Kira gets very angry and opens his window again to see Maggie frolicking with the paper and showing Strawberry what fun things he can do with it. He pretends he is SuperSponge and uses the paper as his cape. Then he pretends to be Maggie JungleMuffin and swings on vines while he does a Tarzan yell with the paper covering his crotch area. He lands on his house, starts grunting, and says he will call his animal friends by making different animal noises. Strawberry meows and Maggie says that Strawberry is right and that he is not a jungle boy. Afterwards, Maggie jumps off of the roof of his house, saying that he is a box of army supplies, and uses the paper as a parachute. Next, he pretends to be a bull fighter with the paper being the blanket and having Strawberry as the bull.

Maggie then does impressions. He does a guy with a mustache, a pirate with an eye patch, and a regular guy with an eye patch. He then starts to suck the paper in through his holes and blow it back out repeatedly. Kira wonders how he does this and Maggie is shown making origami by swishing the paper around in his mouth. He makes a bird, a snowflake, and paper dolls. Kira says that the paper does look like fun, but then covers his mouth, asking himself what he is saying. He storms back inside and says that the paper is not fun, but reading *Boring Science* digest is, and starts to read it. He is interrupted by Maggie laughing again. Kira, while taking a bath, talking about how it is fun, but the paper then comes around the tub as an airplane with Maggie making the engine and gun noises. Then, Kira is painting fruit and thinks that nothing is more fun than painting fruit. Kira paints vigorously until he realizes he just painted himself playing with the paper and destroys the painting in rage. Kira says to himself that he will prove to Maggie that the paper is not fun.

Kira walks fast outside of his house to play with a paddle ball. Maggie also uses the paper as a paddle ball, making Kira feel stupid. He then gets Maggie's attention by playing with a Mini Kira dummy. Maggie also does a dummy with the paper and everyone in Dice Bottom laughs at the joke. Kira rides in his shell car, saying that it's fun, and asks Maggie if the paper can do that. Maggie hovers above Kira with the paper acting as a helicopter, replying "no." Kira then asks Maggie if the paper can play music and starts to play his clarinet. He plays "Mary Had a Little Lamb," but with all of the wrong notes. Maggie says that he made it sound original, and corrects Kira by playing a jazz version of it on the paper.

Finally having enough, Kira demands Maggie to give him back his paper, but Maggie reminds Kira that he told him to never give it back to him, no matter how much he begs, pleads, or cries, and sticks to his word. Kira suggests that he could trade for something and offers a rubber band. Maggie almost trades, but says that Kira is just testing him and that he will never give the paper to him. He then trades every possession he has, even his house, for the paper. Maggie still tries to keep his promise, until Kira offers his shirt. He accepts the trade and gives Kira the paper. Kira is happy at first, but when he starts to try to do the other things that Maggie was doing with it, he has no fun whatsoever with it. Kira realizes that the paper was not fun, Maggie just made it look fun because of how creative and optimistic he is. And since Kira, who only wanted the paper to be better than Maggie, is not creative or optimistic, he cannot do all the things with the paper that Maggie could.

Now Kira is lamenting that he gave away all his possessions for a useless piece of paper. Patrick, who is casually walking by, takes the paper from Kira and uses it as a disposable wrapper for his gum, leaving Kira with nothing as he asks for sunscreen as this episode ends.