Kiri was a young Arctic tern. She was born in June on a rocky island in the far north, where in summer the sun never sets and the night is only a pale blue hour. Her parents brought her small silver fish, and she grew fast. In August the terns turned south, and Kiri flew with her parents over the cold sea.
On the fourth day a storm threw her far away from them. For three days she flew alone, tired and hungry, with nothing around her but gray water and wind. She dived for fish, and a gull chased her across the waves, but she was faster. By day she followed the sun, and at night she followed the stars.
For months she flew past the coasts of warm countries and over the open ocean, until she reached the far south. It was summer there, too, and the sun did not set either. Thousands of terns were fishing in the cold water, and Kiri joined them. In spring she turned north again and flew all the way back.
Three summers after she hatched, she landed on the same rocky island, found a mate and laid an egg. Every year she saw two summers, and she knew the way.
