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But every time you see a star on the side of a barn, or a distelfink, one of those brightly colored birds that adorn Pennsylvania-Dutch art and souvenirs, you’re looking at a symbol full of magical significance to powwowers.

Twelve-year-old spelling whiz Arvind Mahankali of Bayside, Queens, barely bats an eyelash at words like distelfink, phrontistery, opodeldoc and uayeb, all of which he has successfully dispatched at the Scripps National Spelling Bee, where he placed third last week, the second time in two years.