A young girl living in a remote, coastal village is admiring the sounds of the birds that live in the trees around her. Uninterested in playing with the other children, she spends most of her time alone listening to the birds, and eventually builds a birdcage. After a lot of crafting, she is able to capture a bird that she keeps beside her at all times. While the adults in her community do not approve of her behavior, they admit that they enjoy the sounds of the bird, especially in winter when the birds are not as present.

One day, the girl is exploring an abandoned building when she is approached by a witch. While the girl has never seen the witch before, other people have. They say that the witch is able to see into other worlds and can predict the future. The witch takes an interest in the girl and shows her a flute that she has made out of a bird's bone. She plays an enchanting, moving song and tells the girl that she too could make music if she is willing to kill the bird and use its bones as a flute.

The girl decides to follow the witch's advice and quickly becomes revered in the village for her musical abilities. People from far away come to hear her play, and she is considered to be a very important figure in the community. Despite her prowess and magical ability, the girl still struggles with knowing that she will never be able to harness all of the world's songs. When she again encounters the witch, she expresses her dissatisfaction with her gift, and the witch tells her that that is the price of having such magic.

A long time passes, and the girl is now an old woman. Her magical songs have made her a martyr, and when foreign invaders come to her village to kill her people and steal their goods, she uses her music to distract them, sacrificing herself in the process. Her final act at least fills her with purpose and satisfaction, and she dies knowing that she did what she was destined to do.