"Can I have the spelling?" asked Ashrita Gandhari, Speller 288 and a Massachusetts fifth grader.
Her word was "canoeist" -- one that paddles a type of long narrow boat -- and she'd already asked for a lot of information.
"Only if you misspell it, but you don't want to do that," Dr. Bailly replied.
She had the spelling herself, it turns out.
It's Ashrita's second time at the Bee. Last year, she tied for 35th place.
