Capital Cow Road Trip

The herd truck rumbled to life with a cough and a cloud of red dust. Little Thunder sat behind the big steering wheel, his curly orange mop poking out of the window.

"Navigator ready?" he asked.

Suzy unfolded an enormous map across the dashboard. "Navigator ready. Our first stop is the city of Paris, where Paris the cow says the people speak French."

Spike was in the back, keeping an eye on the herd. "And how do we earn the next stretch of road?"

"We answer a question at every stop," said Little Thunder. "Get it right and the road keeps going."

At the first stop, Paris waved them in. "What is the capital of France, and what do people say for hello?"

"Paris, and bonjour!" called Suzy. The road lit up ahead.

Next came a long highway to Tokyo. Tokyo bowed politely. "Capital of Japan? And the language?"

Spike thought hard. "Tokyo is the capital, and they speak Japanese. Konnichiwa!"

On they drove, past snowy mountains and wide golden plains. Nairobi asked about Kenya, where many people speak Swahili and English. "Jambo!" laughed Little Thunder. Lima asked about Peru, and Suzy remembered that Spanish is spoken there. Cairo asked about Egypt, and Spike knew the answer was Arabic.

Then came a tricky one. Ottawa leaned in. "Canada's capital is Ottawa. But which two languages are official there?"

Little Thunder froze. "Er... English and..."

"French!" barked Spike from the back. "Like Paris!"

"Team effort!" cheered Ottawa.

By sunset the truck had circled the globe and rolled home to Canberra, the herd's own capital cow, who stood waiting at the farm gate.

"Welcome back," said Canberra. "How many stops did you make?"

Suzy counted on the map. "Every single one."

Little Thunder switched off the engine and sighed happily. "Best road trip ever. Same time tomorrow?"