A White Heron

First published by in 1886, "A White Heron" became the title story in Sarah Orne Jewett’s collection A White Heron and Other Stories. It follows a young city girl named Sylvia who comes to live with her grandmother in the country. She meets a young ornithologist seeking a rare bird that he recently saw in the area. He intends to kill it and have it stuffed. Should Sylvia tell him she saw the bird? She discovers her passion for the countryside and its wildlife, and she comes to want to protect everything around her.