The Fish and the Nightingale The bowl in which the fish had been placed was very small. Not long ago, she had been swimming in the vast, open sea with no limits, and suddenly she found herself in a space that could barely contain her movement. Unfortunately, the boy forgot her there on the shore and walked away with his family. The fish was sad and worried, looking for any way to return to the sea, but she couldn’t find one. She tried to jump out and failed, then she swam in circles quickly trying to escape, only to hit the hard side of the bowl. A little nightingale was watching her and didn’t understand why she kept circling and jumping. He came closer and said: “Little fish, what’s wrong? Aren’t you tired of all this spinning and jumping?” She answered in pain: “Don’t you see the disaster that has happened to me?” The nightingale, still not understanding, said: “Disaster? What disaster? You’re playing and you call it a disaster?” The fish replied: “God forgive you… How could I be playing in this situation? How could I play when I’m far away from the sea? The boy left me in this bowl and walked away without feeling my suffering! How can I play when I have no food? How can I play when I will die soon if I stay far from the sea?” The nightingale said: “I’m sorry, I really didn’t notice. I just saw a pretty bowl and a fish moving around, so I thought you were dancing with joy.” The fish said: “Yes… like a bird dancing while it is slaughtered from pain!” The nightingale replied: “In any case, what can we do? I wish I could reach you, but as you see, the opening of the bowl is narrow, the water is shallow, and you’re bigger than me. How can I reach you? And how can I carry you?” The fish said: “I’m so confused. I don’t know what to do. I love freedom. I want to go back to my beloved sea. There I can swim as I wish and move from place to place however I like.” The nightingale said: “I’ll try to help you. Wait for me, I’ll be back soon.” The nightingale flew away until he met a flock of doves. He asked them to help him save the poor fish who wanted to escape from her narrow prison that the boy had put her in before leaving. The doves agreed. They flew to the bowl together, lifted it up, then dropped it into the sea. The fish’s joy was beyond measure as she swam out into her beloved sea. She leapt above the surface of the water and called happily: “Thank you all for what you did, and thank you, my friend the nightingale!” Then she dived back into the water, singing the most beautiful song of freedom and homeland, filled with a happiness for her freedom that was truly priceless