The nightingale does not sing anymore.

The father and mother nightingales perched on a tree trunk watching their three baby nightingales foraging for food on the open ground halfway up the hill.

With each season of changing leaves, the layers of leaves become thicker and thicker, and there are many insects here, so you can enjoy them to your heart's content. The father nightingale has a majestic appearance, a slightly large beak, a bulging jaw, looking solemn and majestic, with sturdy legs, and sharp, curved claws like a cat's, how beautiful!

On the surface, it looks like that, but it is full of affection. The father nightingale uses his yellow beak to groom the mother nightingale's feathers. The mother nightingale has a plump body, a straight back, wings that hug her body, a fan-shaped tail, small, tall legs that are light pink, and bright, dark blue eyes.

- Just yesterday they were round blue eggs, but now they are fully grown and can fly and find food on their own. How fast!

- Yes, so fast, just one season of falling leaves!

The father nightingale blinked his bright, wet eyes.

- I remember, we took turns finding food for them. Once, she was almost caught by bad guys, but luckily she escaped.

The mother nightingale pulled her head back, still looking very scared. The small black lines between her head and neck disappeared, and the white halos around her eyes that extended to her neck kept twitching.

- Why mention that horrible thing? Now that I see my children grown up, I'm so happy! Look at Hai, he's already a young man!

Yes, that was fun. The father nightingale began to sing. One song, two songs, three songs…, each song was different, but each song was sweet. Usually the nightingale sang to attract a girlfriend or to affirm to other birds that this land and this forest belonged to the nightingale, no one was allowed to come near.

This time it was different, it was a happy song, clear, sweet, and melodious, flying far and wide to the end of the hill. The mother nightingale danced along, because once the father nightingale sang, the mother nightingale could only listen, her voice could never compare.

The three baby nightingales were eating and listening to their father singing. They raised their heads to look and happily sang along. The baby nightingales' voices were also impeccable. Their songs brought a sense of peace to the hills, making many birds jealous.

But unfortunately, the more beautiful the song, the harder it is to escape the hands of bird lovers in the city. They tell each other that listening to nightingales sing will dispel all the fatigue and hardships of life, and bring a feeling of relaxation after stressful working hours...

Behind a thick bush two bird hunters were hiding. Hearing the nightingale sing, they raised their heads to search.

- Over there, on the tree in front, there is a pair of nightingales that are both beautiful and sing beautifully!

- Over there, on the hillside, there are three nightingales looking for food.

They whispered to each other for a while and then went their separate ways. The wind rustled in the canopy of leaves, the father nightingale stopped singing, tilted his head to listen, a little suspicious and wary.

- Hey, mom, call the kids, we're going home.

The wind is still rustling, the sun flowers are falling and splashing, the mother nightingale is still very happy.

- No rush, the scenery is beautiful, let the children play a little longer.

Indulging the mother nightingale, the father nightingale still looked around. Suddenly, a dry "pop" sound was heard. The father nightingale pushed the mother nightingale aside and suddenly flew up to avoid something flying towards him. The mother nightingale cried out loudly.

- Come back now, children!

Hearing their mother's voice, they knew there was danger and flew up, but it was too late. A net cover came from nowhere and fell on their heads. The second brother struggled but could not escape. The other two children panicked and flew towards the foot of the hill.

The sun, unaware of the matter, still carelessly casts its sparkling rays on the hill of trees, the wind, unaware of the matter, still rustles with the leaves the familiar love songs. Two little birds land in a dense canopy, panting from exhaustion. They were mistaken, not knowing that the road up the hill is the way home.

The father and mother nightingale saw their second son being captured, their hearts aching so much that they forgot all their fear. They did not go looking for the other two, did not run away, but still hung around nearby to find a way to save their son. Finding a position that was both discreet but still able to observe a large area in front, the father nightingale discussed with the mother nightingale.

- Go find the two children, they must be at the foot of the hill, but you have to fly around the hill on the left, I'll stay here and find a way to save Hai.

The mother nightingale flew away in despair. Halfway up the hill, two men appeared, one carrying a square cage, the other carrying a large net, and they were laden with tools that the father nightingale had never seen before.

Seeing someone approaching, Hai knew it was a bad guy so he struggled even harder to escape. The father nightingale suddenly sang loudly, causing the two men to look up. The father nightingale left the canopy of leaves and flew down near the two men, finding an empty branch to stand and sing. The two men whispered something to each other and then walked straight towards the father nightingale.

The father nightingale pretended not to see anyone, still hopping on the tree branch, still singing loudly, but tears kept falling. When the two men came near, the father nightingale jumped up to a higher branch and continued singing, hoping to lure the two men away so that Hai could find a way to escape the trap.

The mother nightingale found her two children and flew back to where their father was singing. Understanding the father nightingale's intention, the two children sang too, and the whole family sang together. Their singing was interrupted by sobs.

The two men were very eager to capture the whole nightingale family, but knowing it would not be easy, they returned to their old place. Hai was no longer scared, he straightened his back and looked up at the hill of trees, where his parents and two younger siblings were crying in pain.

The net caught one guy and narrowed, forcing Hai to lie flat on the ground, the guy’s sinful, ferocious hand pressed down on Hai. With all his strength and courage, Hai used the sharp claws of his feet to scratch the guy’s hand, used his sharp beak to peck at the guy’s hand, but then… the guy caught Hai. Putting Hai in a square bamboo cage, the two guys went down the hill. Hai struggled, his voice calling out sadly up the hill of trees.

- Mom and Dad save me!

The two guys happily walked away whistling their victory, further and further away...

The two younger siblings looked on and spoke in pitiful voices.

- Brother, don't go!

- Don't leave me, brother!

The sun and wind were no longer indifferent to the nightingale’s pain. The rays of sunlight had disappeared, becoming gloomy. The wind no longer sang love songs, but whistled in gusts, gusts… and it began to rain.

After that day's rain in the forest, the nightingale stopped singing!

Source