The Spelling Bee

Diego Morales is twelve years old and lives in Wichita, Kansas. His parents are from Mexico. Diego is the best speller in his class. Last spring he won the school spelling bee, so he went to the state final in Topeka.

The state final was much bigger than the school competition. There were fifty children on the stage and hundreds of people in the room. Diego was more nervous than ever, and his hands were colder than ice.

Everyone was talking about one girl, Emily Parker. She was thirteen, and she won the state final last year. People said she was the best speller in Kansas. She looked calmer than everyone else.

The competition started. The first words were easy: "garden", "believe", "tomorrow". But every round the words got longer and more difficult. One by one, the children made mistakes. After two hours, only two spellers were still there: Emily and Diego.

Emily got the word "rhythm". She thought for a long time and then spelled it, but she added a letter. The bell rang. It was her first mistake of the day! Now Diego had to spell "rhythm" correctly and then one more word. "R-H-Y-T-H-M," he said slowly. "Correct!"

The last word was "chihuahua". For many people in the room, it was the most difficult word of the day. But Diego smiled. It was the name of a state in Mexico! "C-H-I-H-U-A-H-U-A." "That is correct," said the judge. "Diego Morales is the new Kansas champion!"

Everyone stood up and clapped. Emily was the first person to shake his hand. "That was the hardest word of the competition," she said. "You were better than me today. But next year I'm going to practice more!"

That night his grandmother called from Mexico. "Chihuahua? But that's the easiest word in the world!" she said. "Your grandfather was born there!" Diego laughed. "For you, Grandma, yes. In Kansas, it's a little harder."