Sarah Orne Jewett's story of a girl, a rare bird, and ten dollars.
Want the fuller version? Read this story at B2/C1 level →
Ten words open the story. Do the four short activities. Say your answer out loud first, then click Reveal.
Three words: secret · nest · reward. Say the right word, then reveal.
Read each part. Then answer the questions from memory, and talk about one question.
Sylvia was nine years old. Before, she lived in a big noisy town with no trees. Then she came to live with her grandmother on a small farm in the country. Everybody said, "The poor girl will be lonely there." But it was not true. Sylvia loved the woods. She knew every path and every bird, and her favourite time was the evening walk home with the cow.
One evening a young man came out of the trees. He had a gun and a bag. "I am lost," he said. "Can I sleep at your house tonight?" Sylvia was too shy to answer. She walked home in silence and he talked.
Her grandmother was kind. She gave him supper and a bed. The young man explained his work: he collected birds. He had hundreds of birds at home, all dead, in glass boxes. Sylvia listened. She did not understand: he loved birds, but he killed them. Then he said, "Near the marsh I saw a white heron. It is a very rare bird. I will give ten dollars to the person who shows me its nest."
1. Where did Sylvia live before, and is she happy on the farm?
2. What is the young man's work, and what does he want?
1. In a big noisy town. On the farm she is very happy — she loves the woods and knows them well.
2. He collects birds and keeps them in glass boxes. He wants to find the nest of a rare white heron, and he offers ten dollars.
Ten dollars! Sylvia thought about the money all day. She never had ten dollars. Her grandmother never had ten dollars. The farm was poor, and ten dollars could buy many things for the house.
She walked with the young man in the woods. He told her the names of birds and gave her his knife as a present. She liked him very much. She thought he was wonderful. But she still did not understand the gun. All day she said nothing about the heron.
In the woods there was one enormous old pine tree, taller than all the others. Sylvia often looked up at it. From the top, she thought, you can see the whole world — maybe even the sea. That night she did not sleep. Very early, before the sun, she got up quietly and walked to the big tree. "If I climb it," she thought, "I will see where the heron lives."
1. Why is ten dollars so important for Sylvia and her grandmother?
2. What is her plan, and when does she do it?
1. Because the farm is poor. Neither of them has ever had so much money, and it could buy many necessary things.
2. To climb the tall pine tree very early in the morning, before sunrise, and watch where the heron flies from.
The climb was hard. First Sylvia climbed a small tree, then she moved to the big pine. The tree cut her hands. Her fingers were sticky. Two times she stopped, but two times she continued.
At the top, the sun was rising. And there was the sea! She never saw the sea before — big, bright and full of light, with two white boats on it. Below her, birds were flying. The world was much bigger than she imagined. Then, from a dead branch under her, a white bird flew up. It was the heron! It passed close to her and sat on a branch with another heron. Now Sylvia knew exactly where the nest was.
She climbed down slowly. Her grandmother was angry. The young man looked at her face and knew that she had something to tell. "Where is the nest, Sylvia?" he asked kindly. "Remember the money," he said. "Speak!" said her grandmother. But Sylvia said nothing. She could not speak. She could still hear the wind in the big tree. The young man went away that morning, sad and disappointed. Sylvia lost a friend and ten dollars. And she never told anybody what she saw from the top of the tree.
1. What does Sylvia see from the top of the tree?
2. What does she say in the kitchen — and what does she lose?
1. The sunrise, the sea for the first time with two boats on it, birds flying below her, and the white heron flying to its nest.
2. Nothing — she cannot speak. She loses the ten dollars and the young man's friendship, and she keeps the secret for ever.
Sylvia has a real choice, with real results. That is exactly what the first conditional is for.
Use the present simple after if, and will in the other part.
1. If Sylvia (tell) the young man, he (give) her ten dollars.
2. If she (climb) the tall tree, she (see) the sea.
3. If the man (find) the nest, the heron (not / live).
1. tells / will give 2. climbs / will see 3. finds / won't live
Complete each sentence with your own idea. Use will or won't.
1. If Sylvia keeps the secret, her grandmother .
2. If the young man comes back next year, Sylvia .
3. If people take all the rare birds, the woods .
Many answers are possible. For example: 1. …won't have the money for the winter. 2. …will say nothing again. 3. …will be empty and quiet.
Check your grammar: present simple after "if", "will" or "won't" in the other half.
Write the correct form in each gap. Then read the paragraph aloud.
Sylvia has a difficult choice. If she (speak), the man (be) very happy and she (get) ten dollars. But if he (find) the nest, he (kill) the bird. If she (say) nothing, she (lose) the money and the friend. If you (be) Sylvia, what (you / do)?
speaks · will be · will get · finds · will kill · says · will lose · are · will you do
Remember: no "will" after "if" — not even in the question at the end.
Keep this structure ready — in the Speak tab you will use it to argue about Sylvia's decision.
Sarah Orne Jewett wrote this story in 1886, in Maine, in the United States. At that time many people collected birds, and many birds were killed for hats and for private collections. The young man in the story was a normal, respectable person — not a criminal.
This is the most important part of the lesson. Do everything out loud. Use the timer and try to speak for the whole time.
Tell A White Heron in your own words. Follow the steps: the girl from the town → the man with the gun → the ten dollars → the big tree before sunrise → the sea and the heron → the kitchen → her silence.
Use at least two first conditionals and at least five key words (heron, marsh, trunk, nest, reward, secret, kind, confused, hunter, keep a secret).
Say what you think and give three reasons. Should Sylvia tell the man where the nest is? Her family needs money. The bird will die. What is more important?
Then change sides! Speak for one minute for the other opinion.
Talk about nature, choices and secrets.
No idea? Choose one of these: