Daddy Academy

Chapter 3304 Shooting Birds

Chapter 3304 Shooting Birds

A firefly has appeared at Little Red Horse Academy, a rare sight even more precious than a giant panda. It drew a crowd of children who were incredibly excited. In a big city like Huangpu, seeing a firefly on a summer night is extremely difficult. For many of the children, this was their first time seeing one.

However, in this exciting and romantic moment, Old Li's pet parrot ate the firefly in one gulp. This was simply intolerable, and even Chengcheng, who has the best temper, got angry.

The parrot, in particular, didn't realize it had done anything wrong; instead, it swaggered around arrogantly, which made people even angrier.

Even the usually strong-willed Little White glared angrily at the parrot in the cage and scolded, "You silly goose! How can you eat fireflies!"

Xi'er held Xiao Weiwei's hand, both girls' eyes still filled with disbelief.

Little Vivi murmured softly, "It was flying so beautifully just now..."

Chengcheng silently gazed at the empty night sky, where the warm light had vanished. She remembered the little stone in her story that collected starlight. Now, a real "little star" had disappeared.

With tears welling in her eyes, Xiaoxiao angrily rushed to the birdcage, waving her little fists at the parrot perched high above her, and shouted, "Spit it out! Spit it out right now! Those are all our fireflies!"

The parrot showed no fear and didn't think it had done anything wrong. It hopped around in its cage and then squawked.

Just then, Dudu suddenly ran to the classroom like a gust of wind, and then ran out again, carrying a toy bow and arrow and a pale yellow plastic arrow.

Dudu fanned the flames, saying, "Shoot it!"

That was exactly what Dudu was thinking. She rushed to the tree, drew her bow and arrow, aimed at the parrot on the branch, and began to stare at it with a death stare.

Seeing this, Teacher Xiaoliu quickly stopped them and comforted everyone: "Dudu, don't—don't shoot the parrot, Xiaobai! Everyone, don't cry anymore. The firefly went to another place, and the parrot didn't do it on purpose. It was just acting on its hunting instinct."

Xiao Bai immediately ran over and hugged Dudu's small waist to calm her down.

"Dudu, no! Don't shoot the parrot! It made a mistake, but it doesn't deserve to die!"

Dudu is strong, and Xiaobai can't hug her all at once. Xiaomi comes to help, and the two of them hug Dudu's small waist together. Robin also comes to help her aunt, and she hugs Dudu's leg.

Everyone appealed to Dudu's emotions and reasoned with her, persuading her to calm down and not shoot the bird.

Meanwhile, Liu Liu continued to fan the flames: "This kind of parrot is no good. We need to teach it a lesson. This guy is too arrogant. We can't let it live..."

Xiao Bai glared at her, but it was no use. Liu Liu continued her nagging, which only fueled Du Du's excitement.

Xiaomi quickly pulled Liuliu away; this guy just loves to create chaos, the more chaotic it is, the more fun he finds it.

Just then, Old Li came over carrying a small lantern.

He gently said to the children, "Look here, although the light of the fireflies is gone, we can make our own light."

He placed the small lantern on the stone table in the courtyard, and the orange candlelight shone through the thin paper, warm and soft.

The children gradually stopped crying and curiously gathered around.

Old Li said, "Fireflies have short lives, but in their final moments they bring us beauty and joy. We should remember this beauty, not just cry over their disappearance."

The words were somewhat poetic and convoluted, but Chengcheng understood them easily. She then said softly, "Like the girl with the oil-paper umbrella in the story... she collects people's sorrows and then turns them into rainbows after the rain."

Little White seized the opportunity to encourage everyone: "That's right! Although the firefly is gone, we will remember how it shone!"

Robin blindly supported her aunt, who cried and said, "Yes, we have to believe what our aunt says! Please stop crying."

Her voice was choked with sobs, and she wiped her mouth hard after she finished speaking.

Xi'er nodded and said, "Maybe in a few days, its friends will come to play with us."

Xiao Wang tugged at Teacher Xiao Liu's hand: "Teacher, can we sing a song for the fireflies? To send them off?"

Seeing that she looked pitiful and sad, Ms. Xiaoliu said, "You don't need to use her title now."

Xiao Wang immediately changed his address: "Mom, teacher~"

At Xiao Wang's suggestion, the children in the courtyard held hands and sang the gentle lullaby their teacher had taught them, sitting around the small lantern on the stone table.

The singing voice was innocent yet sincere, drifting in the summer night breeze.

The parrot quieted down in its cage, tilting its head to listen, and stopped squawking.

As the last note faded, a miracle occurred—

Two or three faint lights appeared in the nearby grove, flickering and slowly flying out.

Dudu was the first to notice, exclaiming, "Look! Fireflies are flying out again!"

This time, the children didn't make a sound; they just quietly looked up. The few points of light drew gentle arcs in the night sky, as if responding to the song they had just heard.

This time, no one suggested catching them, and no one cried anymore. Several children looked up with tear-streaked faces full of surprise.

Everyone just watched quietly as the few points of light danced in the night sky, circled the courtyard once, and then flew back into the grove and disappeared.

After a long silence, Robin finally spoke up: "Wow~ Is there some kind of treasure hidden in this grove? It has everything!"

-

The next morning, Zhang Tan, unusually, didn't sleep in. He took Chengcheng's storybook and drove to the Datang Huanye magazine office.

The editorial department was holding a morning meeting. Zhang Tan placed the storybook on the conference table and said, "Everyone, take a look at this first during today's meeting."

The art director was the first to pick up the notebook: "Boss, this is..."

Zhang Tan said, "I'd like to hear your professional opinions on a collection of stories written by a seven-year-old girl."

The editors passed around Chengcheng's storybook. At first, everyone just browsed it politely, but soon, low murmurs of discussion filled the meeting room.

"This 'Walking Dandelion' concept is so interesting!"

"The artistic conception of 'The Girl with the Oil-Paper Umbrella' is very beautiful, full of children's whimsical imagination."

"Although the illustrations are simple, they go very well with the story."

……

The editor-in-chief closed the notebook and said earnestly, "Mr. Zhang, these stories have publishing value. Although the authors are young, it is precisely this childlike innocence and fun that could be a selling point. We can create a set of children's picture books, targeting the 5-10 age group."

Zhang Tan nodded: "So, what's the next step?"

The editor-in-chief said, "First, we need to contact the author's parents and sign a publishing contract. Then, we need to professionally polish the text, while preserving its original flavor; otherwise, it would lose its meaning. Finally, and most importantly, we need to hire a professional children's illustrator to redraw the illustrations."

The art director interjected, "I suggest that the illustrator meet with the child author first to understand her creative intentions. Although these simple drawings are not professional, they have a unique style and fit the story very well. We can preserve that innocent and carefree feeling."

Zhang Tan made the decision and said, "Okay, let's do it your way. Also, find the best children's illustrators, three of them, and have each draw a sample. We'll choose the most suitable one."

"What about royalties?" Wang Lei asked.

Zhang Tan said, "Let's give it the highest standard for a new author."

If I give her too little, I won't be able to get past Xiaobai, and she'll disturb my sleep.