Balloons at Dawn

On her last morning, Polly woke in the dark. She heard a strange sound, like a dragon breathing. On the plain, big balloons were filling with hot air. Their flames glowed orange inside the cloth. Polly flew between them as they rose into the sky. Her round glasses caught the light.

From high up, she could see her whole week at once. The kopjes were grey islands. The river was a silver line. And everywhere, the herds were still walking, just like the day she arrived.

Soon the animals will cross into the Maasai Mara in the north. When the rains come, they will turn south again, back to the plains where they were born. The circle never stops. It is the largest journey of big animals left on Earth.

The balloon floated quietly. The people in the basket said nothing. The plain at sunrise makes people quiet. Polly flew next to them for a while. Then she turned east, into the rising sun, and the Serengeti slowly disappeared behind her.