"..."
A zoo?
Ren was left speechless by the little girl's innocent suggestion.
If he really took this little bird to the zoo, Ren figured the zookeepers would probably accept it, but they'd most definitely give him the "are you serious?" look.
"No, that won't work. The zoo wouldn't take it," Ren said, rubbing the little girl's head.
"Oh, really?"
The girl's eyes showed a bit of disappointment.
But then, her eyes lit up as if she thought of something. She tilted her head up, gazing at Ren with hopeful eyes, "Then, Dad, let's keep Little Gray at our house! We have a big house, and Little Gray will like it!"
"Little... Gray?"
Ren was puzzled by what she said.
"It's the little sparrow's name!"
Well, this girl had even given the sparrow a name already.
But, unfortunately...
"No, once the sparrow is healed, we'll have to let it go."
Ren rejected the idea directly.
If it were some other type of bird, it might be doable, but not a sparrow.
He knew from experience that sparrows aren't suited for being kept as pets. In his past life, he once tried to raise a sparrow, but it didn't last long and died, which made him cry terribly back then.
So, rather than keeping it and letting it die, causing this little girl even more sadness, it was better to release the sparrow when it recovered.
"Huh? Why?"
The joy on the little girl's face froze, and she frowned slightly.
At that moment, she was really upset. Her cheeks puffed up, turning her face into a "bun face."
She thought her dad was being mean. Not only was he refusing to let her send this rare protected animal to the zoo, but he also wouldn't let her keep it at home, insisting instead on releasing it.
It's dangerous outside, and there's that nasty, evil cat waiting out there! In their house, Little Gray could have food, water, and a big place to live!
The reason? Because raising a sparrow would likely lead to its death.
Of course, Ren only thought this to himself. The girl was full of questions, and if he said this, she'd probably ask why sparrows die if they're kept.
So it was better to give her an explanation she could understand.
After thinking it over briefly, Ren crouched down and gently said, "Because sparrows don't like being kept as pets."
"Wh-why…"
Sure enough, the little girl's flood of questions started.
But Ren was ready. He cut her off before she could finish and continued, "Because sparrows like to be free. Think about it, if you were kept indoors all day and weren't allowed to go outside and play, would you be happy?"
The little girl thought about this for a moment, clearly conflicted. She muttered, "But... but, we could walk the bird, just like we walk Little White. We could tie a string around its leg or neck…"
"That wouldn't work either. Sparrows have their own families too. How would you feel if you were separated from your mom and dad and had to live at someone else's house?"
Hearing this, the little girl imagined what it would be like to be away from her parents. She immediately shook her head vigorously, like a rattle.
"Hmm… okay then…"
The little girl was quite understanding. After hearing Ren's explanation, she agreed that it wouldn't be right to keep the sparrow.
Losing her own parents would be too sad, and doing that to the sparrow seemed way too cruel to her.
At that moment…
Upstairs, a door opened.
Jada came down, holding the baby in her arms. As she walked, she asked, "What's going on? It's so noisy, you woke up the baby."
"It's a little bird!" The little girl pointed proudly at the bird on the table, puffing out her chest. "Dad and I rescued it! It's a protected species!"
She might not know what exactly being a "protected species" meant, but that didn't stop her from showing off a bit.
"Oh, really? That's impressive," Jada said as she walked over and saw that it was a sparrow. She didn't burst the little girl's bubble.
After all, the little girl wasn't wrong. Sparrows are indeed protected animals, and regardless of what they saved, it was still a life. She crouched down, gently teasing the baby, "Rui Rui, look! It's a little bird!"
"Daboo?"
The baby's big eyes sparkled as he spotted the sparrow on the table. He reached out to grab it.
Seeing this, the little girl quickly blocked him, saying, "No way!"
She usually let her little brother play with her toys, but this was different!
She had seen what her brother did with toys—after playing with them a bit, he'd duang them right onto the floor. That would be dangerous for the sparrow.
"You're not allowed to touch Little Black!"
"…"
Wait, wasn't the sparrow's name Little Gray?
Ren was speechless. Did she already forget the name she gave it?
It was clear that wanting to keep the bird was just a spur-of-the-moment idea.
Otherwise, how could she have forgotten the name she came up with so quickly?
"Waaah!"
But just as Ren was thinking this, the baby, startled by the little girl's scolding, froze and then burst into tears.
Crying usually got him what he wanted, so it was his go-to tactic.
But this time, he was in for a letdown.
"Come on, let's go back upstairs to play," Jada said, not giving in.
After all, the sparrow was injured, and the baby wasn't gentle. The little girl was right this time.
It was a life, after all, and they couldn't let it die in the baby's hands.
With her little brother out of the way, the girl sighed with relief and continued watching the sparrow on the table.
After a while, the little girl seemed to remember something and looked up at her dad. "Dad, what does the bird eat? Is it bugs? When I was sick, I wanted to eat, so wouldn't Little Brown be really hungry now?"
Did she change the name again?
Hearing the girl's new name for the sparrow, Ren felt speechless. He scratched his head, "Uh… bugs, probably? Let me check."
He didn't know much about sparrows either.
So he pulled out his phone and searched. After a moment, he said, "They eat all kinds of stuff—bugs, leaves, that sort of thing."
"I'll get some things ready for it," he said, getting up from the couch.
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