Mrs. Krupnik looked up from the table where she'd been leaning over a large sheet of paper covered with an intricate pen-and-ink drawing. "What word?" she asked. "Gwem," Anastasia said. "Gwem?" Katherine Krupnik put her pen down and stared at Anastasia. "Never heard of it. Is it English?" Anastasia nodded. "Yeah," she said. "But maybe the vowel is wrong. It could be gwim. Or gwam." "Guam is an island in the Pacific. Are you doing Geography homework?" Anastasia made a face. "No. Not Guam. I should have spelled it for you. It's with a W. G-w-a-m. Or gwem, or gwim." Her mother shook her head. "Did you look in the dictionary?" "It's not there. But I know it's a word because I read it in a magazine." "Well," said Mrs. Krupnik, "they made a mistake. Or maybe it's a misprint. There's no such word as gwem. Or gwam. Or gwim." Anastasia frowned. "How about gwum? It could be gwum." Mrs. Krupnik grinned. "Aha!" she said. "Gwum. That one I know." "What does it mean?" "Well, a person with a slight speech impediment?
What do You think about Anastasia At This Address?
