The Nightingale and the Hunter
Once upon a time, at the edge of an old forest where cool waters flowed with a gentle grace, there lived an ambitious hunter. This man was famous for making the rarest birds of the forest, whose voices were like velvet, fall into his trap. One day, among the branches there appeared a tiny nightingale with a golden voice, held to be the king of nightingales. Its doleful melodies, which scorched hearts, at once awakened the appetite of the greedy hunter. The hunter spread the net he had prepared with care under an oak tree with silver leaves and settled into a sly wait. Before long the unlucky nightingale, while singing a sweet song, was suddenly caught in the hunter's trap. The nightingale that entered the cage, instead of being afraid, decided to use its wits and addressed the hunter in a refined tongue.
"O son of man, my flesh is but a single bite and will never fill your belly," said the tiny bird. "If you set me free, I will give you three golden counsels that will guide you all your life." The hunter hesitated at first, then, giving in to his curiosity, accepted this offer. The nightingale spoke the first rule: "Never feel regret and grieve for the things that slip from your hands." Then it added: "Never believe a word that you have not seen with your own eyes and that does not agree with reason and logic." When the hunter excitedly asked for the third, the nightingale answered, "First set me free, so that I may perch on a high branch and tell it." The hunter, trusting its word, slowly opened the hands that gripped the tiny bird and released it to freedom.
The nightingale at once perched on a high branch of a plane tree and began to sing towards the hunter with laughter. "O foolish hunter, had you cut open my belly you would have found inside me a priceless pearl the size of an egg!" it cried. Hearing this, the hunter began with great rage to beat his knees and to weep for the treasure he had let slip. The nightingale looked at him with pitying eyes and said: "How quickly you have forgotten the counsels I gave you a moment ago!" "My size is plain to see; how could a giant pearl be inside me, that you were deceived at once?" While the hunter bowed his head in shame, the wise nightingale beat its wings and vanished into the depths of the forest. The person who does not use his mind can neither grasp the worth of the opportunities in his hand nor escape becoming the slave of false promises. What is past is past; late regret brings no gain.