Section 5, Chapters 16, 17 and 18 Summary

"Ben's First Reading Lesson in the Barn"

Whittington directs Abby to sit next to Ben and show him letters and words, just the way Dick's grandmother showed Dick. They start with the Psalms from the Bible (see "Objects/Places") and immediately run into difficulty - the silent "p" at the beginning of psalms. Abby writes it out in large letters on one of the stanchions in the barn so the animals can all see, and explains to Ben that sometimes letters are silent. As the lesson progresses, Whittington realizes that Ben has the same difficulty as the boy who loved him - he has dyslexia (i.e. mixes up letters). Whittington suggests that Ben do what the boy did, memorize lists of words. Later that night, Bernie comes in with some water for the animals, and is surprised when...