The Girl and the Puffin

Sophie visits a wild, green island with her child-sized binoculars, mustard-yellow raincoat, and red rubber boots, eager to photograph puffins. Ranger Mae greets her at the dock and guides her along a path marked with wooden posts, explaining that these paths keep both visitors and birds safe. When Sophie steps off the path for a closer look, she discovers that puffins dig burrows under the grass and that getting too close can frighten them enough to leave their eggs.

From then on, Sophie watches from a distance, standing still on the marked path with her binoculars raised. She observes puffins waddling out of burrows, carrying fish in their striped beaks, splashing into the sea, and bumping beaks like friends. Patient and quiet, she finally gets her photographs, and on her last day Ranger Mae gives her a badge naming her an official puffin protector. Back home, Sophie creates a school exhibition board about seabird conservation. This tale by Çınar BİBER, readable on Masalcı Baba, shows how curiosity and care can work together.