Too Many N-A's

Bananananananana
By William Cole

I thought I’d win the spelling bee
And get right to the top
But I started to spell “banana”,
And I didn’t know when to stop.

~from Child Craft, vol. 3




ONE TOO MANY N-A’S

William Cole was the best speller in his class, but he had a problem. He stuttered a lot whenever he was in front of an audience.

“I-i-i-i am W-w-w-illiam C-c-c-cole.” Said William during the first day of classes.

His classmates would often tease him.

“Stutter!” said the big bully.

This made William Cole quiet and shy. But they soon discovered that William Cole was the best speller in class when the teacher gave them a diagnostic test. This made the teacher decide to enter William Cole in the spelling bee. Although he was shy, William Cole had long wanted to join such a contest.

“O-o-o-k!,” said William Cole with a big smile on his face.

On the day of the contest, William Cole was all spiffed up. His hair was neatly combed in place. He wore his special bow tie which he only wore on special occasions. He wore his shiny shoes which he himself brushed. He studied and prepared the whole week before the contest. He read his books and practiced in front of the mirror.

“Calling all contestants, please proceed to the back of the stage,” boomed a loud voice on the speakers.

The contest was about to begin. On the easy round, William breezed through it. He spelled dog, cat and cow with confidence. He was in the lead! When the difficult round came, the pressure was on William Cole. It was the last word and it was the word that will make him win or lose.

“Ok, William Cole please spell banana,” said the master of ceremonies.

“Banana,” whispered William Cole on the microphone, “B-a-n-a-n-a-n-a-n-a-n-a-n-a-n-a…”

Whoops! The na-na’s just kept on slipping off his tongue. William Cole stood there with a frozen expression. He was about to let a tear fall when one of his classmates jumped and cheered him on “Go! William Cole Go!”.

More stood up shouting and clapping. William Cole then broke into peals of laughter. His glowing face was a sight to behold! Although William Cole was not able to get first prize, he was able to overcome his stage fright. He won the hearts of his classmates and he was no longer quiet and shy. He became popular that day just because he spelled to many n-a’s.