Capital Cow Match

On Spike and Suzy's farm, every cow is named after a capital city. There's Beijing, Helsinki, Nairobi, Ottawa and lots more.

One morning, Helsinki the cow looked a little puzzled. "Spike," she said, "I'm named after a city. But where is it?"

Spike didn't know either, so he trotted off to find Suzy. Suzy had the big farm map rolled up in the shed.

They spread it across a hay bale. Little Thunder leaned in close, his curly orange mop almost touching the paper.

"Helsinki is the capital of Finland," Suzy read. "Finland is in Europe, way up north where it snows."

"Brrr," said Helsinki, smiling. "No wonder I like cool mornings!"

Soon every cow wanted a turn. Beijing is the capital of China, in Asia. Nairobi is the capital of Kenya, in Africa. Ottawa is the capital of Canada, in North America.

Little Thunder drew lines with a stick. Cow to country. Country to capital. Capital to continent. It looked like a big friendly spider web.

"What about Denver?" asked Spike. Everyone looked. Denver is a city in America, but it isn't a country's capital! It's the capital of the state of Colorado.

"A surprise!" laughed Suzy. And that night, every cow dreamed of her faraway home.