Ruby has a Bird Sanctuary where she looks after injured birds. Some of the birds she has been involved in their rescue and other birds are brought to her with injuries. When they are well enough she returns them back to the area they were found or to a safe area. Ruby is training to be a vet.
Ruby travels to Kapiti coast to examine the penguin. On arrival she observes the penguin is eating sand. She wonders why this penguin is more than 3000kms from its home in Antarctica. Ruby rings Brian, the Vet, to get a second opinion on what to do. They agree to leave the penguin where it is over night and she will come back the next day to check on it.
The next morning Ruby observes that the penguin is lying down on the sand and looks quite weak as it struggles to stand when she walks over to it. Ruby decides to take the penguin to Brian so he can give it a health check.
Brian examines the penguin and can feel the sand in its stomach which is not natural because the penguin would normally be on snow and it would eat snow for hydration. Brain puts a tube down the throat of the penguin to try and drain out the sand. He is successful in getting a small amount of sand out.
They keep the penguin in overnight at Ruby’s Bird Sanctuary. The next morning they notice the penguin hasn’t improved so they operate to remove the sand still in its’ stomach. Ruby assists Brian with the operation and removes more sand and some sticks from the penguins stomach.
The penguin improves each day in his enclosure which has snow on the floor. Annabelle offers the penguin a fish to eat. Annabelle has been a voluntary worker at the weekends at the Bird Sanctuary since Ruby came to a Hitty meeting to talk about what she does at the Bird Sanctuary. Rachel started helping at the weekends when she arrived at Kowhai Corner to live. Both Hitty girls love helping at the Bird Sanctuary.
Two weeks later the penguin is well enough to be returned to the Antarctic. Ruby invites Annabelle and Rachel to come with her to release the penguin back to where it has come from.
The penguin can see out of the holes in its carry cage and starts flapping his wings in excitment as they approach the area he is from. Ruby opens the carry cage and the penguin dives into the water and swims to the snow covered coast. The penguin is happy to be reunited to the flock. The girls are pleased too, but a bit sad because they have spent a lot of time with him. It is too cold to linger so Ruby turns the boat around and heads towards home.
