The entire story takes place in a single classroom in an elementary school; the students are about seven years old. It's about five minutes to nine in the morning; all the children are seated at their desks looking nervous, no doubt at least partially because their teacher, a somewhat elderly woman, is obviously very fearful and tells the kids that their conquerors are monsters who have done terrible things. It is the first day of school after the conquest of their country. At 9 o'clock sharp the bell rings, there are ominous steps in the hallway and the classroom door opens; a young woman in a dark green uniform enters. She informs them that she is their new teacher; she tells their elderly teacher that she is to report to the principal and ushers out the woman, who tearfully- and fearfully- bids the children farewell. One of the little girls tries to run after her but is stopped by the new teacher who calls her by name and calms her by singing a treacle-y song about everyone being children of the world.
The teacher asks them how they usually start the day and the children tell her by reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. They start to recite it, but Teacher interrupts them and asks them what "pledge" means. Most of the kids are silent, but one says that it's like promising to do something. The teacher then asks what "allegiance" means and, when none of the children answer, she says that she thinks it's very wrong to require children to recite statements with long words they don't understand. She says it was wrong of their former teacher not to explain it to them, and that they can always ask her anything because that's what a real teacher should do. She also asks if their parents explained the Pledge to them, and the kids say no, it was just something they were required to learn. Teacher tells them "allegiance" means loyalty or duty to a king, country, or government and that they are pledging it to a flag. But, she asks, how can an object be more important than they, real live people, are? The children look confused, but one says that the pledge continues to say "and to the republic for which it stands," which means that it's like a sign. Teacher says that yes, it's a symbol, but that no one really needs a sign to remind them to love their country. At this point one of the boys- Johnny, who has been noticeably suspicious of the new teacher- interrupts to say, "It's our flag. Ours. And we always pledge to the flag." The teacher changes tacks and says that it's a very pretty flag and she thinks, if it's so important, they should all have a piece of it. She takes the American flag from its flag pole and gets scissors from the desk drawer, saying they must decide who gets to cut the first piece off, like it's a big honour. Most of the kids look eager and excited, but Johnny says uncertainly that he doesn't think they should cut up the flag. The teacher ignores this and hands the scissors to one of the little girls- Leslie- telling her that she can make the first cut, because it's her birthday. Leslie, happy to be singled out for a treat, takes the scissors and the teacher calls all the other children to come forward to take part: they do, giggling as Leslie cuts into the stripes. Several start asking if they can have a piece; most want a star and they cheer as the flag is cut up for distribution. The only hold out is Johnny who remains at his desk, looking on with disapproval. Teacher looks over at the flag pole and says that it looks funny now, with nothing on it. She wonders audibly what they should do with it and one of the kids, carried away with excitement, laughingly suggests they should throw it out the window. The other children laugh uproariously, especially when Teacher tells them that they can if they want to. Excited by the transgressiveness of it, the children rush to open the window and then hurl the flag pole onto the pavement below.