Once upon a time, in a forest far from the reaches of civilization, there was the legendary Hill Woods.
Contrary to its name, there weren't any hills in the area, nor was the forest itself situated on one. Instead, Woodlands Forest was home to thousands of extraordinary little creatures, living together in peace and harmony.
However, Cuckoo wasn't one of them. This bird had a nasty streak. Though small in size, her malice was enormous, driving her to commit bad deeds. If you listened for a heartbeat, you would find none, so heartless was she that not many others liked her due to her bad behavior.
One day, during mating season, Cuckoo was about to lay her eggs. But she was far too lazy to sit on her eggs to keep them warm.
Frustrated, she searched for an alternative solution, regardless of how immoral it might be.
Aha! She found it.
It was a nest belonging to a beloved little bird called Warbler, filled to the brim with her eggs.
Poor sweet little Warbler was hardworking and kind, beloved by all the woodland creatures. Except for Cuckoo, who didn't particularly love anyone.
Cuckoo knew that Warbler had a kind and good-natured side. She could definitely trust Warbler to take care of her eggs! After all, she couldn’t be bothered to raise them herself. Might as well let someone else more willing take up the job, and she could always come back later to reap the rewards. Or so she thought.
Eyeing the unguarded nest with Warbler away collecting berries for dinner, she viciously rolled Warbler’s eggs out with her feet, causing them to splatter on the ground with a resounding ‘crack.’ Quickly laying her eggs in the nest, she smiled evilly to herself and flew away. It was foolproof!
When Warbler returned, seeing her eggs on the floor, she dropped her berries in shock, her heart shattered.
But what also pained her were five little eggs that did not belong to her, cold and alone, sitting in her nest…
Months went by, and the baby cuckoos under Warbler’s care grew into beautiful children. But they soon realized something was wrong. They looked too different from Warbler, whom they regarded as their mother.
Finally, one of them spoke. “Mother, why do we look so different from you?”
“To tell you the truth…” Warbler ruffled her feathers, preparing to reveal the uncomfortable truth to her precious babies. “I’m not your mother.”
“WHAT?!” The babies chirped in unison, then turned to each other, chirping away with confused looks as they tried to process the situation.
“I found you all in my nest one day after I came home from finding berries to eat,” Warbler continued, a tinge of guilt in her voice. “I’m sorry, children. I shouldn’t have lied to you and pretended to be your mother all these months. I hoped we could remain a happy family together forever.”
She sniffed. “I saw you all, lying haplessly in my nest, cold and abandoned. Wanting children anyway, I made the selfish decision to raise you as my own. I am very sorry, dear children!”
The young cuckoos stared at their mother, then looked at each other, shaking their heads. Warbler hung her head low, then turned away from them.
Finally, one spoke. “Mother, why are you saying such silly things? We should be thankful you took us in despite not being our biological parent, saving us from the cold and hunger.” The other birds nodded in agreement. “We are grateful for your care, Mother! Thank you so much! You have taken care of us and taught us lots! Now it’s our turn to take care of you!”
A single tear fell from Warbler’s eye.
“Really? You would? Even after all of this?” She sobbed, turning to face them.
“Especially after all of this! To us, you’re our one and only mother!” They smiled, then ran to embrace her. “We can be one big, happy family again like we always have been!”
“Now this is where I step in,” a voice called out from the shadows. “Long time no see, my darlings.”
It was Cuckoo.
And she was here for her children.
“Thank you so much indeed.”
She walked towards the group, as the young cuckoos pulled away from Warbler, eyeing this stranger that looked exactly like an older version of them with suspicion. “But it is time to part, is it not?” Cuckoo smiled. “I’m here for my children.”
“Wrong nest, buzz off.” One of the young cuckoos stared back at Cuckoo indignantly. Cuckoo just laughed.
“What a rude child!” she exclaimed. “It seems that your parenting is indeed a bit lacking, don’t you think? But no need to worry. Under my guidance, they will become fine brood parasites, like me!”
“I’m not handing them over. You abandoned them! I can’t trust you to be a good parent. I’m not sure if they would even want to leave with you, either.” Warbler retorted, standing between the young cuckoos and Cuckoo, shielding them with her wings spread out.
“I’m not asking you for them. I’m taking them back.” Cuckoo lunged at Warbler, viciously attacking her with her beak, causing her to bleed from the side, tripping and sprawling.
“Now, for our first lesson, young children.” Cuckoo gestured flamboyantly. “Let me demonstrate how we cuckoos knock eggs from other birds’ nests, like I did to hers!”
The young cuckoos’ eyes widened as they watched their mother’s unmoving body move closer to the edge as Cuckoo carried it with her vicious, pointy claws.
The tree was several meters tall, and Warbler, being injured, wouldn’t survive the fall.
“Don’t touch Mother!” All at once, they launched themselves at Cuckoo, knocking her off-balance, making her drop Warbler at the edge of the nest. She was safe, for now.
“Bad children! I’ll get rid of her! I’LL KILL HER! I’LL KILL HER SO I’M THE ONLY MOTHER YOU’LL EVER HAVE!” Cuckoo yelled as she was being charged at.
“You were never our mother to begin with!” Tackling Cuckoo, the young birds nodded at each other, piling on her and breaking her wings.
“I’LL BE BACK! THIS ISN’T OVER! I WON’T JUST KILL HER; I’LL KILL YOU ALL TOO!” Cuckoo screeched in pain, before realizing that she was moving against her will.
She was being carried out by the young cuckoos out of the nest.
“NOOOOOOOOOO!” The intruder screamed as she was being shoved off unceremoniously, falling off the nest to an uncertain doom.
The young cuckoos watched as she fell until she disappeared from their view. The baby birds hurried to Warbler’s side, fearing for her life. “Mother!” they cried by her side, prodding her. “Are you okay?”
Warbler stirred slightly but was too weak to reply.
Later, it turned out that Warbler’s wounds were not severe, and with the loving care of her baby cuckoos, she was healthy in no time.
Nothing could keep them apart. And together, they lived as one big family, in Hill Woods, happily ever after.