Brightbill has lived his whole life near the pond, and his growing curiosity about the wider island prompts Roz to take him on a walk. Roz carries Brightbill across the forest, the Great Meadow, and up to the island’s western ridge, where Brightbill sees the ocean for the first time and realizes it is far larger than any pond.

On the windy ridge above the shore, Brightbill spreads his new brown-feathered wings. The breeze briefly lifts Brightbill off the ground, but Brightbill tips backward and lands in the grass. Brightbill excitedly thinks he has flown, while Roz explains that Brightbill has only come close and begins teaching him what Roz has observed about birds soaring.

Roz directs Brightbill to study a seagull and to adjust the angle of his wings and tail in the wind. Brightbill repeatedly climbs onto a rock, opens his wings, experiments with their position, and tumbles into the grass. Through practice, Brightbill learns how to rise, drop, and steer while riding the breeze.

After Brightbill becomes comfortable soaring, Brightbill begins flapping his wings. Brightbill flies upward, forward, and in circles, proving that Brightbill is truly able to fly. Roz praises Brightbill, though Brightbill’s landings remain clumsy.

Exhausted, Brightbill returns to Roz’s shoulder for the trip back to the Nest. As Brightbill falls asleep, Brightbill says Brightbill wishes Roz could fly with him, revealing both Brightbill’s joy in independence and Brightbill’s longing to share that freedom with his mother.