Around the World in a Paper Plane

Leo folded the perfect paper plane: sharp nose, wide wings, and a tiny star drawn on the tail. He stood on the back porch, pulled back his arm and threw it as hard as he could.

The plane caught a gust of wind — and so did Leo. Suddenly his feet left the porch, and he was riding on the paper wings as they grew bigger and bigger, carrying him up over the rooftops and into the clouds.

"Where are we going?" Leo shouted. The plane only dipped its wing, as if to say, Everywhere.

First they swooped over North America, Leo's home continent. He saw the Rocky Mountains, sharp and snowy, and the Great Lakes shining like five blue puddles.

The plane swung south, over a narrow strip of land, into South America. Below spread the Amazon rainforest, a green ocean of treetops. Parrots flashed red and yellow beneath the wings.

Then the plane crossed the wide Atlantic Ocean to Africa, the second-largest continent. Leo saw the golden Sahara Desert and, far to the south, giraffes nibbling leaves on the savanna.

North again, to Europe, where castles perched on green hills and a long river wound past old stone bridges. The plane looped around a tall iron tower in Paris, and Leo laughed out loud.

Next came Asia, the largest continent of all. The plane flew beside the Himalaya mountains, home to Mount Everest, the tallest mountain above sea level on Earth. Leo shivered in the thin, cold air.

The plane glided south over sparkling blue water to Australia, where kangaroos bounded across red earth and a huge rock glowed orange in the sunset.

Finally, the plane dove toward the bottom of the world: Antarctica, the coldest continent. There were no cities there — only ice, a few scientists in bright red coats, and thousands of penguins waddling across the snow. One penguin waved a flipper at Leo. He waved back.

"Seven continents," Leo said, counting on his cold fingers. "North America, South America, Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia and Antarctica."

The plane seemed to nod. Then it turned for home, flying through the night, past stars and sleepy cities, until it landed softly on Leo's back porch — just a small paper plane again.

At dinner, Leo spun his old globe and pointed to each place he had been. "Someday," he told his family, "I'm going to see it all for real."

⭐ The End ⭐