Juan climbed onto the low step and drew a thick blue arc on the school wall with a piece of yellow chalk.
He stepped back and waved both arms. "¡Miren!" he shouted to the empty playground.
A group of children appeared at the gate and stared at the stripe. One boy pointed toward the square. "Will they see it?" the boy asked.
Juan said, "Yes, and maybe they will want to help too."
Juan handed the blue chalk to each new friend. "Blue is done!" he said. One by one they stepped forward and drew: a green stripe, then orange, then red.
The wall grew brighter with each turn. Juan watched the colors line up and thought about how good it looked.
An older woman at the corner market called out and asked to add a stripe, then pulled a small pot of red paint from her basket.
She dashed the red paint onto the wall. More neighbors arrived with brushes and buckets — some painted the wall, some the bench, some the mailbox.
The whole street became a rainbow.
Days later, every house in the town showed a painted stripe, and the patrol walked past more slowly and quietly.
Juan stood in the center of the schoolyard with all the children around him.
He passed the chalk to the youngest one, who drew a small green arc at the bottom.