One windy morning, the big sign on the barn door blew down. Clatter! The wooden letters scattered all over the yard.

"Oh no," said Suzy, her green eyes wide. "The barn sign tells everyone which animals live inside. Now it's just a jumble."

Spike sniffed at a letter C. Little Thunder nudged an O with his nose, and a W was stuck in the mud near the water trough.

"C... O... W," Spike sounded out slowly. "Cow!" The cows in the barn mooed happily, and Beijing the cow gave a big wink.

Next they found S, H, two E's and a P. Little Thunder tried "SHEPE", then frowned. "That doesn't look right."

"Say it slowly," said Suzy. "Sh-ee-p. The 'ee' sound needs two E's together."

"SHEEP!" said Little Thunder, and the sheep went "Baa!"

The last word was the longest: T, R, A, C, T, O, R. They clapped out the parts. Trac-tor. Spike placed each letter, one by one, until the word was whole.

By lunchtime the barn sign was back, neater than ever. The farmer smiled. "Who fixed this?"

Three proud faces looked up. Spelling, they decided, was a lot like herding. You just keep every letter in the right place.