The Girl and the Barn Swallow

Eight-year-old Lily lives on a small farm with a red barn and spends the winter waiting for spring. She watches the calendar and splashes through puddles in her red rubber boots, eager for the return of the barn swallows. When two swallows finally arrive, she grabs her sketchbook and coloured pencils and begins to draw everything she observes.

Day by day, Lily records the swallows as they build their nest, lay eggs and raise their chicks. She sits quietly on an upturned bucket so the birds get used to her, and she writes down each stage in her careful handwriting. As spring turns to summer, she creates her own calendar with a box for every season, marking the swallows' arrival with a bright red circle. This gentle story by Aysel Banu YAVUZAL follows a patient, observant child through a full year and can be read on Masal İzle. It shows young readers how the seasons turn and how migratory birds come and go, making it suited to children who are beginning to read longer stories.