Bebe and the Spelling Bee: A Little Hedgehog Story
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This is Ria. Welcome to Little Stories for Tiny People. Last week, I received a letter from the spiders who live in the uppermost corners of my studio. Yes, it was handwritten or footwritten. Anyway, I usually get messages from the spiders via email, and I realized they were

They rely heavily on spellcheck. Their handwritten letter, handwritten because their internet has been down, which they were complaining about, their letter was riddled with spelling errors. And it got me thinking, is spelling a lost art? To one of my favorite characters, it certainly isn't. So I have to thank the studio spiders.

because their terrible spelling inspired this story. It's called Bebe and... Oh, I guess the internet's back. I'll get to that email later. It's called Bebe and the Spelling Bee. Take it away, Crystal. Remember, there are no pictures. You have to imagine the pictures in your mind. You can imagine them however you want. Okay, here we go. ♪

"Bebe, can you believe the class spelling bee is tonight?" It was a Wednesday evening, and Little Hedgehog and Bebe, her best friend of all time, had just sat down at their desks. I can hardly contain myself. "You'll definitely win." Thank you. I try never to expect a definite win.

But my spelling bee record is nearly flawless. Nearly? My family conducts a yearly spelling bee at our annual family reunion. Makes total sense. Two years ago, I recorded my first and only spelling bee loss to a distant cousin of mine.

His name was Ahim. Ms. Hammerthistle, a salmon-colored flamingo, glared at the class. Students.

before we begin our work. In recent nights, there have been a number of you getting up to sharpen your pencils at ill-considered times. The students blinked up at Ms. Hammerthistle. Such as last night,

when someone decided to sharpen his pencil as I took attendance. Bebe, wasn't that Garvin? I do recall it being Garvin. Garvin, a lizard with a mohawk of spikes on his head-

casually stared out the window as if none of this had anything to do with him. This was an example of an inappropriate interruption to... At that very moment, the loudspeaker crackled to life.

Ms. Hammerthistle narrowed her eyes at it, as if this was a most inappropriate interruption. Good evening, students. It is I, Principal Petri Dish. We've got an exciting school activity coming up. Usually, Ms. Swindletooth, your favorite school activities director...

would be here to tell you all about it. But she is currently away at a professional development workshop entitled Supercharge Your Adjectives, How to Inspire Youths with Whimsical Words.

Little Hedgehog and Bebe exchanged a look and giggled. The class seemed torn between relief and disappointment at Ms. Swindletooth's absence. Before they could decide how to feel about it, Principal Petri Dish went on. "But, diligent as she is, she pre-recorded a message for all of you regarding our upcoming event.

Here it is. Contain yourselves. I beg of you, restrain yourselves. Come on and take a seat. Pour some tea. Listen to me. Cause it's

Miss Swindletooth's pre-recorded message went silent, and the students exchanged puzzled expressions, believing there had been some sort of malfunction. In fact, Miss Swindletooth had taken a long, dramatic pause for effect.

It's a spelling bee. It's...

It's a spelling bee. The loudspeaker fell silent. Little Hedgehog and Bebe clasped their teensy paws together and their eyes sparkled with anticipation. Well now, that was a lively and memorable message. As Ms. Windletooth put it so straightforwardly, our school spelling bee is coming up next Friday. As you all know, TiddlyWaddle

Today, each class will conduct its own spelling bee. The winners of those class competitions will move on to the school-wide event. So good luck, everyone, and have a great N-I-H-G-T. I mean, N-I-G-H-T. As I was saying, student, I will no longer allow you to sharpen your pencils when I am in the middle of...

The class tried, but could not hold back their giggles. Ms. Hammerthistle's eye twitched. Near the door, Garvin withdrew his pencil from the sharpener, inspected it, and returned to his seat, oblivious.

Once Ms. Hammerthistle had preened her ruffled feathers, she arranged the class for its spelling bee. "You will have twenty seconds to spell your word, which I will track with this pocket watch." Ms. Hammerthistle held up a gleaming timepiece. "You must repeat the word. Spell the word without interruption. Then repeat the word again."

You may request the word to be repeated, used in a sentence, or defined. If you spell your word correctly, you continue. If you spell the word incorrectly, you will return to your desk and display proper attentive listening skills to learn from more successful students.

The students stood all in a row. During Ms. Hammerthistle's recitation of the rules, most fidgeted, a few stared at the ground,

and several whispered, including Little Hedgehog. "Bibi, I am convinced Little Guy is advanced at blink communication. He has developed an eye blinking code and I'm pretty sure I've cracked it. Like the other day when I dropped a cricket into his enclosure, he blinked eight times in a row and I strongly believe it meant that cricket is going to be tasty. Can you believe it, Bibi?" "I really can't," Bibi replied.

But in truth, she was only half listening. Because this was her moment. Her time to shine. She'd been looking forward to the school-wide spelling bee for months, and nothing was going to stop her from achieving her goal of getting on that stage. Or podium. She wasn't really sure what the setup would be. Anyway. Students, we shall now begin. Tulip.

Please step forward. Tulip, a shy turtle who rarely spoke in class and often disappeared into her shell at the slightest provocation, took a shaky step forward. Tulip, your word is toil. Um, um, toil? Um...

Could I hear it in a sentence? I toil every night to give my students chances at bright futures despite their best efforts to fail. Little Hedgehog and Bebe exchanged a significant look. Tulip turned a deeper shade of green. Her head began creeping inside her shell.

T O Y

By the time Tulip repeated the word, her head had vanished from view. That is incorrect. Tulip, you may return to your seat. Poor Tulip was just the first, but many followed, dropping off one by one, mostly due to incorrect spellings. Awful. Oh.

F-F-E-L. But occasionally, due to hitting up against the 20-second time limit... Swift. S-W-I. Little Hedgehog got out on her second word, despite the fact that she was a good speller. Her downfall was her tendency to get distracted. Focus. F-O-C-R.

I just saw Miss Jazzy, the art teacher, carrying a goldfish tank down the hallway, and I'm pretty sure the goldfish was wearing a tuxedo. That is incorrect. Little Hedgehog, please return to your seat. Oh, okay. Within ten minutes, every student was sitting except for Garth, BB, and Garvin, who had been eliminated from the B, but had gotten up to visit the pencil sharpener.

Garth, your word is irony. Irony. Can you please use it in a sentence? It is the great irony of my life that my job is to cultivate the minds of the youth within the walls of a school, when as a young flamingo I eschewed school altogether in favor of reading textbooks,

On my own time at the watering hole. From her seat, Little Hedgehog held back a giggle and exchanged a look with Bebe, who stood beside Garth, making sure to hide her amusement behind a serious expression. Irony. I-R-U-N-E-Y. Irony. That is incorrect.

Did Bebe just win? cried an excitable penguin named Carmen. In order to win, Bebe must spell her next word correctly. Garth, please remain standing.

Garth remained standing, but slouched and crossed his paws over his chest. Bebe, yasmas hammer thistle. The class fell silent, suddenly interested in the outcome of this competition, after not really paying attention for most of it. Little Hedgehog leaned forward in her seat, smiling brightly at her best friend. Your word is handily.

Could I please hear the word in a sentence? There are some uninformed individuals who believe it is acceptable for students to chew bark in the classroom at any time of their choosing.

However... As Ms. Hammerthistle went on, Bebe smiled out at the classroom. She didn't actually need to hear her word used in a sentence. She could have provided the sentence herself.

But this was a big moment for her, and she wanted to soak it up. Therefore, I deal with these facile arguments handily with my thorough presentations on the risks of conspicuous bark chewing in the classroom environment. Handily. H-A-N-D-I-L-Y. Handily. Garth, you may return to your seat. Class.

Please lightly applaud Bebe. I said lightly. Here you go, kids. Grasshopper fritter delight and a side of apple walnut snail pudding.

At lunch, most of the young creatures chatted about usual stuff. My dad's taking me to a cat rodeo this weekend. No way! I wish I could go. The class spelling bees were all but forgotten, except to the winners and their best friends of all time.

After you win the school-wide spelling bee next week, you'll go on to the all-fars spelling bee. If I win. As my great-great-great-uncle Humphrey Spinetop would say, don't count your hermit crabs before they... Oh, hey guys. Little Hedgehog and Bebe turned to see Dylan, a studious rat, in Mr. Turtleton's class.

Dylan looked more bedraggled than usual, which was saying something. Dylan, are you okay? Did something happen? Kinda, yeah, Dylan said, hanging his head.

I lost my class spelling bee. This was shocking. Dylan was one of the top students in the entire school. Did you start giggling uncontrollably in the middle of spelling a word? I've done that before. Did you get hung up on a word with a homophone such as compliment and compliment or affect and affect?

Worse than that, the bee went on for the entire length of the class, to the bitter end. Wow. Whoa. For the last 20 minutes, it was just me and this other kid, a new student. He was unstoppable. He spelled the word equivocate without...

Well, without any equivocation. Who is this new student? We must know immediately. Turn around. He's right over there. Little Hedgehog and Bebe swiveled in their seats to see a smallish hedgehog taking a large spoonful of grasshopper fritter delight. The two best friends' mouths fell open in shock. Little Hedgehog was shocked.

because in all her life, she'd never seen any student wolf down school lunch with such gusto. Bebe was taken aback for a completely different reason.

One that had nothing to do with grasshopper fritter delight. The hedgehog across the room was none other than Chase Prickleton, her distant cousin. Years ago, I recorded my first and only spelling bee loss to a distant cousin of mine. He was not so distant anymore.

And in this photo, you can see me lassoing worms using the method taught to me by my Aunt Claudia. It was after school, and Little Hedgehog and Bebe were in Bebe's underground burrow. Sorry, that must be a misprint. They were in Little Hedgehog's burrow, weren't they? Oh, it's not a misprint. Little Hedgehog and Bebe were in Bebe's burrow.

Standing in front of a wall filled with framed photos of Bebe's family members. Wow, Bebe! I didn't even know one could lasso a worm. In general, one cannot. It is extremely difficult. I've never known any hedgehog to do it besides my Aunt Claudia. Right.

Myself. Goes without saying. And Bebe paused her expression, solemn. Chase Prickleton. She pointed a paw at a photo of Chase Prickleton lassoing three worms at once.

After the surprise encounter with her cousin in the lunchroom, Why, hello, Bebe. Why, hello, Chase. Bebe had suggested Little Hedgehog come over so she could share the worm lassoing photos and devise a plan.

Because, while Bebe knew she shouldn't count her hermit crabs before they leave their shells, or whatever, in truth, up until the moment she'd seen Chase Prickleton, she had accepted.

expected to win the school-wide spelling bee in a week's time and proceed to the all-forest spelling bee. Now, all bets were off.

Thank you, Mom, Bebe said as her mother handed her a glass of dandelion iced tea. Thank you, Mrs. Hedgehog, Little Hedgehog trilled. Bebe's mom smiled apologetically and pointed to her voice box. Little Hedgehog, Bebe said, my mom would love to say, you're welcome.

But she is saving her voice for a cricket-calling seminar she's leading next Saturday in the wilds south of the forest. Bebe's mom nodded. "Oh, okay. That makes total sense." As the two friends sipped their iced tea, they brainstormed, "You can make flashcards? Like, 500 of them?" "I already have 3,000 spelling flashcards and I have memorized them all."

What about reading the dictionary? I read the dictionary daily, but I could increase my study time. How many minutes have you been reading it every day? Two hours. Eventually, Little Hedgehog and Bebe developed a training regimen for the next seven nights to maximize Bebe's chances of beating her cousin. They enacted the plan the following night at school.

Action item number one. Take opportunities to spell during class, such as when Garvin is sharpening his pencil. Parsimonious. P-A-R-S-I-M-O-N-I-O-U-S. Students, may I remind you there are appropriate and...

Action item number two. Spell a word while answering a teacher's question. Yes, BB, go ahead. Please explain photosynthesis to the class. Photosynthesis. P-H-O-T-O-S-Y-N-T-H-E-S-I-S is the process by which plants turn... Action item number three. Invent rhymes or songs to remember tricky words. It goes C.

S-C-I-E-N-T-I-O-U-S. It's Connors.

B.B. diligently applied every action item and then some. After school each night, she and Little Hedgehog skipped home, spelling the whole way. Excessive! E-X-C-E-S-S-I-V-E. As the sun rose each morning, B.B. turned on her spelling tapes and fell asleep listening to words. Absurd.

A, B, S, U, R, D, Overkill, O,

Each evening at breakfast, she arranged her cricket-flavored alphabet cereal into words like "belabor." She spelled a word every time she blinked, which was once every 56 seconds. She spelled a word every time a student in class said the words, "Ms. Hammerthistle, can I go to the bathroom?"

which was once every 32 seconds. Bebe spelled words all night, every night for an entire week. By the end of it, she was as ready as she could possibly be for a showdown with her distant cousin, Chase Prickleton.

Students, please find your seats in an orderly fashion. The school-wide spelling bee had finally arrived, and the students filed into the courtyard beneath a brilliant quarter moon and a smattering of stars. It was early spring, and the air was warm and filled with the scent of flowers.

Moths and other insects flew in lazy circles. Little Hedgehog followed the rest of her class to their seats in the third row, while Bebe joined the handful of other class spelling bee winners at the north end of the courtyard.

Why, hello, Bebe, Chase Prickleton said upon seeing his cousin approach. He was the very picture of calm. Greetings. The cousins shook paws. Best of luck to you, Bebe said, and turned to find her podium. But Chase surprised her. As our great-great-great-great-great-grand-uncle Winterly Pricklepot once said,

Upon entering the arena for a fencing tournament in the Himalayan mountains, it is not the number of touches one lands, he began, but the honor and respect with which one fences. The cousins finished together. Phoebe had been nervous entering the courtyard, but she found herself grinning. Chase grinned back.

Welcome to our School Spelling Bee. We will begin with a word from our MC, your favorite school activities director, Miss Windletooth. Bebe and Chase nodded to one another, then scampered to their respective podiums.

Ms. Swindletooth, a rabbit of unusual size with substantial front teeth and ears, took her place at the microphone and swept her eyes over the audience of students and teachers. Then she took a deep breath and sang, "It's the spelling, spelling, spelling bee." Eek! The students had found Ms. Swindletooth's immediate launch into song jarring enough

They were positively stupefied to see her leap into the air and cradle her right paw to her chest with a wounded expression. "She's been stung!" cried the excitable penguin named Carmen. They all heard, and then saw, a single hornet wandering through the air.

Once it became clear that Ms. Swindletooth, while in need of an ice pack, would make a full recovery, a cheeky chipmunk named Johnny B. Chiptooth cried, Would have been funnier if it was a bee. Everyone failed to hold back their giggles.

But it couldn't have been a bee, since bees don't fly at night, obviously. With Ms. Swindletooth carted off to the nurse's office, Principal Petri Dish took over. "Uh, thank you to Ms. Swindletooth for that alarmingly riveting introduction.

Let us begin. The first 36 minutes of the spelling bee were uneventful, save for the fact that one of the three judges, Miss Partridge, kept giving hints. Martin, your word is belief. Uh, could I have it in a sentence? It is my strong belief.

that "I" comes before "E" except after "C." Oh, ha! Belief. B-E-L-I-E-F. Belief. Overall, nothing interesting happened in those first 36 minutes. The seven class spelling bee winners were, understandably, good at spelling.

But even the best spellers have their limits. Starla, your word is discombobulate. Discombobulate. D-I-S-C-O-M-B-U...

After Starla, Martin was eliminated on the word eliminate, followed by Jarvis who missed on the word flibberty gibbet, which is, in fact, a real word. At minute 57, the third-to-last speller tripped on the word peregrination, leaving only two spellers, B.B.,

and Chase Prickleton. Go, Bebe! Go, new kid! Beneath the splendid quarter moon and the starry night sky, Bebe took in her surroundings.

She could see her best friend beaming at her from the third row. The judges were off to her right. Dour-faced Ms. Hammerthistle, cheery Mr. Lumdrum, and a giddy-looking Ms. Partridge. And at the podium beside her was her cousin, Chase, looking serene in the moonlight. Bebe took a deep breath and settled in for what she expected to be a long night ahead.

Chase, Mr. Lumdrum said with a slight smile, your word is unforeseen. Yes, Bebe thought to herself, it will be a very long night. Unforeseen, Chase began with a confident smile. U-N-F-R.

R. S. At the next podium, Bebe's eyes went wide with shock. Most of the audience had no reaction whatsoever, but a handful of students, perhaps nine, gasped. Miss Hammerthistle and Mr. Lumdrum exchanged a significant look at the judges' table, while Miss Partridge stared up at the moon.

Principal Petri Dish raised her eyebrows. Chase himself winced with immediate regret. He'd forgotten the letter E in the middle of the word. With a forlorn expression, he finished. E-E-N. Unforeseen.

"I'm sorry, Chase, that was incorrect." The crowd of students erupted into chatter and whispers. "Did Bebe just win?" "That was so quick." "In order to win," said Mr. Lumdrum from the judge's table, "Bebe must spell her next word correctly. Bebe, your word is 'indubitably.'" The entire courtyard fell silent.

At her podium, Bebe was like a statue. She exchanged a look with little Hedgehog who was standing on her seat in the third row, smiling prickle to prickle. Bebe felt no stress whatsoever. This was one of her very favorite words. Indubitably. I-N-D-U-B-I-T-A Bebe paused.

Her mind went to her great, great, great, great, great, grand uncle, winterly pricklepot. It is not the number of touches one lands, but the honor and respect with which one fences. Then she continued. B. E.

L-Y, indubitably. The crowd remained silent because no one knew how to spell indubitably. Bebe, Mr. Lumdrum said. I'm sorry, that is incorrect. It looks like we're in for the long haul, everyone.

And so they were. For the next full hour, Bebe and Chase spelled word after word flawlessly. Preposterous. P-R-E-P. Outrageous. O-U-T-R-A. Rizable. R-I-S-I-B-E.

Yawns went up all over the courtyard as the night wore on. At one point, Ms. Partridge fell asleep and had to be elbowed awake by Mr. Lumdrum. Hmm?

Are we done? They were not done. Principal Petri Dish had to get out her book of difficult words to keep it interesting. Bebe, your word is rendezvous. Chase, your word is indefatigable. Bebe, your word is contentiousness. Until finally, when it seemed like the two hedgehogs could go on forever, Mr. Lumdrum said...

Chase, your word is discontinuance. Discontinuance. Chase paused and put a paw to his chin prickles. His brow wrinkled. D-I-S-C-O-N-T-I-N-U-N.

E-N-C-E. Discontinuance? Mr. Lumdrum seemed torn between a smile and a frown. Chase, I'm sorry. That is incorrect. Chase and Bebe exchanged a smile, and he shrugged. Bebe, if you get this next word correct, you win the bee.

Your word is...conscionable. The audience of students and teachers gave no reaction. Many of them were asleep. Others stared ahead, appearing to be listening, but actually planning what they'd do after school. Little Hedgehog sat on the edge of her seat, with her teensy paws clasped together and her eyes sparkling with delight for her best friend.

Conscionable. C-O-N-S-C-I-O-N-A-B-L-E. Conscionable. The audience waited silently, since they had no idea if that was correct. But Chase knew.

He grinned at Bebe and gave a nod. She nodded back. Bebe, congratulations! That is correct. You are the winner of our school spelling bee. Everybody give it up for Bebe Hedgehog. You didn't have to do that, Bebe.

"I know you spelled indubitably wrong on purpose." The cousins stood together between their podiums as the students filed out of the courtyard. "I could tell you knew how to spell unforeseen." At this, Chase nodded. "I didn't want you eliminated because of a silly error. You are a formidable opponent. I wanted to have a fair fight."

Well, thank you. Bebe put out a paw, but Chase pulled her in for a hug instead. The two cousins parted ways, Chase into the night, and Bebe to her best friend, who stood waiting, her eyes enormous.

You did such a good job. I knew you would win. I just knew it. And now you get to go to the all-forest belly. It was truly a bee-utiful night. ♪

My gut is telling me the studio spiders are not pleased. They tend to send terse emails in threes. Oh well, I hope you enjoyed this preposterous story. Little Stories for Tiny People is written, performed, and produced by me, Rhea Pector.

My in-house tech director, Peter Kay, runs my website and puts my stories on the internet for all of you to enjoy. Thank you to my Little Stories Premium subscribers for supporting the show. Thank you to Crystal for the super important reminder message at the beginning. And thank you to the many Premium subscribers who supplied sound effects used in this story. Thank you to my little stories

Thank you to Nikhil, Sahana, Theo, Eleanor, Frankie, Marin, May, Maxwell, Isabel, Aby, Leeson, Claire Ann, Poppy, Izzy, Felix, Mia, Katerina, Luciana, Jasmine, Phillip,

JJ, Davis, and Lily. And thank you, as always, for listening in.