The Paper is a season 1 episode. In this episode, SpongeBob plays with a gum wrapper, and Squidward wants it.
Synopsis[]
Squidward 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 SpongeBob's front yard. SpongeBob comes outside of his house as well, only to realize that Squidward has dropped his wrapper on SpongeBob's yard. As Squidward is about to leave at the sight of SpongeBob, SpongeBob catches him on time to ask if he wants it back. Squidward thinks it's only garbage, but SpongeBob states that in the right hands, it can be a goldmine of entertainment. Squidward doesn't believe in SpongeBob and walks inside his house. SpongeBob asks him again if he wants it back, but he still refuses to keep it and tells SpongeBob he can have it. With a sigh of relief, Squidward answers his ringing phone. When he answers it, it is actually SpongeBob asking "are you sure?" Squidward angrily says that he is and that SpongeBob can keep it forever. Squidward hangs up the phone by slamming it and starts panting from exhaustion. SpongeBob pops up from under the table the phone was on and asks Squidward if he is really sure. Squidward tells him to get out of his house and finally pushes him out. SpongeBob says it's his last time to change his mind, and Squidward tells SpongeBob one last time that he can keep it no matter how much he begged, pleaded, or cried to have it back. After Squidward is out of SpongeBob's sight, SpongeBob says to the paper that he is lucky to have a friend like Squidward.
Squidward is back inside his house to continue his planned, relaxing day. He hears SpongeBob's obnoxious laughter, and begins to play his clarinet. He still hears SpongeBob's laughing and opens his window to ask SpongeBob what he is giggling about. SpongeBob apologizes and says that he is thinking about all the fun he is going to have with the paper. Squidward 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 SpongeBob's laughing.
Squidward gets very angry and opens his window again to see SpongeBob frolicking with it and showing Gary 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 SpongeBob JunglePants and swings on vines while screaming with the paper covering his crotch area, similar to Tarzan. He lands on his house, starts grunting, and says he will call his animal friends by making different animal noises. Gary meows and SpongeBob says that Gary is right and that he is not a jungle boy. After, SpongeBob 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 Gary as the bull.
SpongeBob 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. Squidward wonders how he does this and SpongeBob is shown making origami by swishing the paper around in his mouth. He makes a bird, a snowflake, and paper dolls. Squidward 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 isn't fun, but reading boring science digest is, and starts to read. He is interrupted by SpongeBob laughing again. Squidward is then talking about how it is fun, but the paper then comes around the tub as an airplane with SpongeBob making the engine noises. Then, Squidward is painting fruit and thinks that nothing is more fun than painting fruit. Squidward paints vigorously until he realizes he just painted himself playing with the paper. Squidward says to himself that he'll prove to SpongeBob that the paper is not fun.
Squidward walks fast outside of his house to play with a paddle ball. SpongeBob also uses the paper as a paddle ball making Squidward feel dumb. He then gets SpongeBob's attention by playing with a Mini Squidward dummy. SpongeBob also does a dummy with the paper and everyone in Bikini Bottom laughs at the joke. Squidward rides in his shell car saying that it's fun and asks SpongeBob if the paper can do that. SpongeBob hovers above Squidward with the paper acting as a helicopter replying "no." Squidward then asks SpongeBob if the paper can play music and starts to play his clarinet. He plays Mary has a Little Lamb but with all of the wrong notes. SpongeBob says that he made it sound original, and corrects Squidward by playing a jazz version of it on the paper.
Squidward demands SpongeBob to give him back his paper, but SpongeBob reminds Squidward that he told him to never give it back to him, no matter how much he begged, pleaded, or cried. Squidward suggests that he could trade for something and offers a rubber band. SpongeBob almost trades, but says that Squidward 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. He starts to try to do the other things that SpongeBob was doing with it, but has no fun whatsoever with it. The episode ends with Squidward lamenting that he gave away all his possessions for a useless piece of paper. Patrick, who is casually walking by, uses the paper as a disposable wrapper for his gum, leaving Squidward with nothing.