The days were growing shorter, and the weather was growing colder, signs of winter. Winter does not suit birds, for food becomes scarce, and birds starve. So when winter came, the birds migrated south to plentiful lands where there was enough food for everyone. Like every other winter, the ruby-throated hummingbirds prepared to fly south. Among them was a hummingbird named Ruby. This was Ruby's second year of migrating, and she hoped it would go well.

 

 

She started on her migration as the weather became too cold to bear. She began at a small garden in Virginia and flew down south through pine forests, tall mountains, grey buildings that emitted thick clouds, and rocky cliffs. But the temperature was still not warm enough. She needed to fly further.

 

 

So she flew, passing by more grey buildings. Ruby was concerned at the sight. The last time she had migrated, the buildings had stretched to the edge of the forest, but now it extended through the forest, cutting through the trees. But Ruby could do nothing about that.

 

 

She flew on, and on until the weather felt right. But the place she was in looked nothing like the forests and sunny beaches from last year. Instead, all she saw was grey, extending as far as she could see. She looked around for a place to stay, and to her delight, she saw a small patch of bright colors. She swooped down to it. The place was a park, with a lawn, large trees, and best of all, a patch of flowers. She fluttered over to the assorted flowers and began feasting on the nectar. Ruby thought that this might be a good place after all.

 

 

She found a bush that she could spend the night in, and she did. She slept until she was awoken by a loud screech. Ruby poked her head outside the bush to see what was going on. Outside, there were many animals walking around. They walked upright and wore cloth. Suddenly, one of the animals turned around, looked at her, and shrieked. The animal rushed towards her, and Ruby, who had no desire to be captive, flew away.

 

 

She set off east, hoping to find another green patch of land. And fortunately, after a while of flying, she found one. It was a huge piece of land, filled with large, symmetric, arrays of crops. The air was unlike the fumes that surrounded the grey buildings but was clean and sweet. There were flowers everywhere, and she could not see any animals that resembled the other animal. She landed on a place bursting with wildflowers. Ruby, tired from her long journey, drank the nectar hungrily. She found a tree to sleep in, and when she woke, she was greeted by a warm day and the wildflowers opening their petals. She stayed there until it was time to migrate back again. When the winter migration occurred again, she went to the farm and did so for many years afterward.