How Doth the Simple Spelling Bee

"How Doth the Simple Spelling Bee" by Owen Wister is a funny short story that pokes fun at the idea of changing the way we spell words and shows how language reform can get pretty crazy. It's set back when people were really debating how to make English spelling simpler. Thomas Greenberry, a smart but detached guy, gets mixed up with Masticator B. Fellows, who's in charge of a university and wants to change spelling. Greenberry ends up at a conference full of odd people like Professor Willows and Miss Appleby, where they come up with ridiculous ideas and argue a lot, all while some people are more interested in flirting than fixing spelling. The story basically makes fun of the whole idea of trying to simplify language when people and their opinions are so complicated.