The days were becoming colder and colder each day, and that means one thing. Well, it means a couple of things, but the most important thing is that I’ll be flying back to the winter place.
I might be young, but I’ve flown that path my entire life. I even have it memorized—after all, my family has been flying to that same spot for years. It’d be sad if I didn’t have it all memorized by now.
So, I decided that, yes, it was time to set off and fly to our family’s winter spot. And I was doing pretty alright for a good forty minutes… until a butterfly showed up.
I perked up instantly, curious about the little orange creature. “Oh, hello,” I said. “You’re very beautiful.”
The butterfly didn’t respond and promptly flew away.
“Wait, come back!” I followed the orange insect, wings beating furiously as I tried to keep up with it. It wasn’t all that difficult —hummingbirds like me are, in fact, very quick flyers.
Eventually, I realized that it was about time for me to land at my winter home — just as the sun was beginning to set.
I sighed in relief. Finally, I’d arrived to —
Wait a minute.
This… doesn’t look like my family’s winter spot.
Oh. Oh, great. The butterfly led me astray, didn’t it? I looked around, and sure enough — yep, there was that orange butterfly, flapping away, looking all too smug for an insect.
I was seething inside.
“Oh, hello Ruby! What are you doing here?”
I jumped at the voice, turning around. In front of me was a black-chinned hummingbird; one I recognized, too. “Oh, Ebony! Nothing much, I was just following this butterfly and got lost.”
Ebony chuckled. “I would think so. It’s going to take another hour for you to reach your winter spot!”
“It is?!” I gasped. “How far did I go?!”
“Pretty far. The sun’s coming down, and I have room for some company. You can rest for the night here.”
I sighed in relief. “Thanks, Ebony.” I followed her to her winter home — a cozy nest in an oak tree.
“It’s a nice place, right?” Ebony preened.
I rolled my eyes, finding a small part of the nest to lay in.
Ebony nestled in next to me.
I must have fallen asleep eventually, because I blinked and suddenly it was daytime.
“Sleeping Beauty awakes!” Ebony said. “Did you have a good sleep?”
“The best. Thanks for letting me crash at your place, Ebony, but now
I have to go to my actual winter spot.”
“Of course.” Ebony smiled. “Are you sure you know the way there, though? You’re pretty far from home.”
“Oh.” I had forgotten about that. “Do you know where to go?”
“Of course I do! Come on, we can go right now.”
“Oh, now? Alright.” I got up and took a moment to stretch my wings. “Let’s go!”
The other hummingbird smiled at me, and together we flew off west, to my actual winter home this time.
![Illustration by May Torii of characters in her story, Ebony, a black-chinned hummingbird, and Ruby, a ruby-throated hummingbird, looking at the orange butterfly.](https://taradiddle.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Winterbutterfly-1024x768.png)
Story and illustration
by May Torii
![](https://taradiddle.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/MayTorii-768x1024.jpg)