A White Heron

Sarah Orne Jewett places her most famous short story, "A White Heron," in her native Maine. Originally published in 1886, it's a coming-of-age story about a young city girl now living with her grandmother in the country. She comes out of her shell in nature, more comfortable with creatures than with people. A visit from a young bird hunter awakens her interest in the opposite sex, but when presented with an ethical decision, she protects her beloved white heron, instead of revealing its location. "...she remembers how the white heron came flying through the golden air and how they watched the sea and the morning together, and Sylvia cannot speak; she cannot tell the heron's secret and give its life away." This short work is part of Applewood's American Roots series, tactile mementos of American passions by some of America's most famous writers and thinkers.