The Nightingale 2

‘Little nightingale!’ called the kitchen-maid quite loud, ‘our emperor wishes you to sing to him!’

‘With the greatest of pleasure!’ said the nightingale, singing away in the most delightful fashion.

‘It is just like crystal bells,’ said the gentleman-in-waiting. ‘Look at its little throat, how active it is. It is extraordinary that we have never heard it before! I am sure it will be a great success at court!’

‘Shall I sing again to the emperor?’ said the nightingale, who thought he was present.

‘My precious little nightingale,’ said the gentleman-in-waiting, ‘I have the honour to request your attendance at a court performance to-night, where you will charm his majesty the emperor with your wonderful singing.’

‘It sounds best among the trees,’ said the nightingale, but it went with them willingly when it heard that the emperor wished it.

The palace had been decorated for the occasion. The walls and the floors, which were all of china, shone by the light of many thousand golden lamps. The most beautiful flowers were arranged in the corridors. In the middle of the large reception-room where the emperor sat a golden rod had been fixed, on which the nightingale was to perch. The whole court was assembled, and the little kitchen-maid had been permitted to stand behind the door, as she now had been made a cook. They were all dressed in their best clothes, everybody’s eyes were turned towards the little grey bird at which the emperor was nodding. The nightingale sang delightfully, and the tears came into the emperor’s eyes and rolled down his cheeks and then the nightingale sang more beautifully than ever, its notes touched all hearts. The emperor was charmed, and said the nightingale should have his gold slipper to wear round its neck. But the nightingale declined with thanks, saying it was already happy enough.

‘I have seen tears in the eyes of the emperor; that is my richest reward. The tears of an emperor have a wonderful power!’ and then it again burst into its sweet heavenly song.

‘That is the most delightful thing I have ever seen!’ said the ladies, and they took some water into their mouths to try and make the same gurgling noise as the bird when any one spoke to them. Even the handymen and the maids announced that they liked it and they are hard to please. Yes, indeed, the nightingale had made a sensation. It was to stay at court now, and to have its own cage and was free to walk out twice a day and once at night. It always had twelve footmen, with each one holding a ribbon which was tied round its leg. It wasn’t much fun for the nightingale.

The whole town talked about the marvellous bird, and if two people met, one said to the other ‘Night,’ and the other answered ‘Gale,’ and then they sighed, perfectly understanding each other. Eleven cheese-makers’ children were called after it, but none of them could sing.

One day a large parcel came for the emperor. Outside was written the word ‘Nightingale.’

‘Here we have another new book about this celebrated bird,’ said the emperor. But it was not a book, it was a little work of art in a box, a toy clockwork nightingale, exactly like the living one, but it was studded all over with diamonds, rubies and sapphires.

When the bird was wound up it could sing one of the songs the real one sang, and it wagged its tail, which glittered with silver and gold. A ribbon was tied round its neck on which was written, ‘The Emperor of Japan’s nightingale is very poor compared to the Emperor of China’s.’

Everybody said, ‘Oh, how beautiful! Now, they must sing together; what a duet that will be.’

Then they had to sing together, but they did not get on very well, for the real nightingale sang in its own way, and the clockwork one could only sing waltzes.

‘There is no fault in that,’ said the music-master; ‘it is perfectly in time and correct in every way!’

Then the artificial bird had to sing alone. It was just as great a success as the real one, and then it was so much prettier to look at; it glittered like beautiful jewellery. It sang the same tune thirty three times over, and yet it was not tired. People would willingly have heard it from the beginning again, but the emperor said that the real one must have a turn now – but where was it? No one had noticed that it had flown out of the open window, back to its own green woods.

‘But what is the meaning of this?’ said the emperor.

All the king’s people were angry with it and said it was a most ungrateful bird.

‘We have got the best bird though,’ said they, and then the toy bird had to sing again, and this was the thirty-fourth time that they heard the same tune, but they did not know it thoroughly even yet, because it was so difficult.

The music-master praised the bird a lot and insisted that it was much better than the real nightingale, not only because of all the diamonds, but the inside of it too.

‘Because you see, my ladies and gentlemen, and the emperor before all, in the real nightingale you never know what you will hear, but in the artificial one everything is decided beforehand! You can open it and show how cleverly it is built to plat the waltzes, how they go, and how one note follows another!’

I agree,’ they all said, and it was agreed by the Emperor that the music-master was to show the bird to the public next Sunday and hear it sing.

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