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The Nightingale夜莺The Emperorof Chinais aChinaman,as youmost likelyknow,and everyonearound himis aChinaman,too.Its beena greatmany yearssince thisstory happenedin China,but thats all the more,reason fortelling it before itgets forgotten.The Emperor s palacewas thewonder of the world.It wasmade entirelyof fineporcelain,extremely expensivebut sodelicate that you couldtouchit onlywith the greatest ofcare.In the garden therarest flowersbloomed,and to the prettiestoneswere tiedlittle silverbells whichtinkled sothat no one couldpass bywithout noticing,them.Yes,all thingswere arrangedaccording to plan in the Emperor s garden,though howfarand wideit extendednot even the gardenerknew.If youwalked onand on,you came to afine forestwhere the treeswere talland thelakes weredeep.The forestran downto the deep bluesea,soclose thattall shipscould sailunder thebranches of the trees.In thesetrees a nightingalelived.His songwas soravishing thateventhepoor fisherman,who hadmuch elseto do,stoppedto listenon thenights when he wentout tocast hisnets,and heard the nightingale.〃,“How beautifulthat is,he said,but hehad hiswork to attend to,and hewould forget the bird〃s song.But thenext night,whenhe heardthesong hewould againsay,How beautiful.From all the countriesin the world travelerscameto the cityof the Emperor.They admiredthecity.They admiredthe palaceand itsgarden,but when they heardthe nightingalethey said,“That〃is the best of all.And thetravelers toldof itwhentheycame home,and menof learningwrote manybooks about thetown,about the palace,and about thegarden.But they did notforgetthe nightingale.They praisedhimhighest ofall,and those who werepoets wrotemagnificent poemsabout the nightingale wholivedin the forest by thedeepsea.These bookswent allthe worldover,and someof themcameeven to the Emperorof China.He satin hisgolden chairand read,nodding his head indelightover suchglowing descriptionsof hiscity,and palace,and garden.But thenightingale is thebest ofall.He readit inprint.〃〃,Whats this”the Emperorexclaimed.I dont knowof anynightingale.Can therebe suchabird in my empire-inmyown garden-and Inot knowit Tothink that I shouldhave tolearn of〃it outofa book.Thereupon hecalled hisLord-in-Waiting,who was so exaltedthat when anyone oflower rankdared〃〃,speak to him,or askhim aquestion,he onlyanswered,P whichmeans nothingat all.,,“They saythere sa mostremarkable birdcalled thenightingale,z said the Emperor.“They say,〃its thebest thingin allmy empire.Why haventIbeen toldabout itIve never heard thenamementioned,z/said the Lord-in-Waiting.〃He hasntbeen presentedat court.〃〃〃I command that heappear beforeme this evening,and sing,said the Emperor.The wholeworld〃knows mypossessions better than I do!〃〃I neverheard ofhim before,said theLord-in-Waiting.But I shall lookfor him.f11find him.But whereThe Lord-in-Waiting ranupstairs anddownstairs,through allthe roomsand corridors,but noone hemet withhad everheard tellof thenightingale.So theLord-in-Waiting ranback〃to the Emperor,and saidit must be astory inventedby thosewho writebooks.Your ImperialMajestywould scarcelybelieve howmuch ofwhat iswritten isfiction,if notdownright black〃art.〃“But thebook Iread wassent meby themighty Emperorof Japan,said the Emperor.“Therefore,it cantbe a packof lies.I musthear thisnightingale.I insistupon hisbeing herethisevening.He hasmy highimperial favor,and ifhe isnot forthcomingI willhave thewhole courtpunchedin thestomach,directly aftersupper.〃“Tsing-pe!said theLord-in-Waiting,and offhe scurriedup thestairs,through allthe roomsandcorridors.And halfthe courtran withhim,for noone wantedto bepunched in the stomachaftersupper.There was much questioningas to the whereaboutsof thisremarkable nightingale,who wasso wellknowneverywhere in theworldexcept athome.At lastthey founda poorlittle kitchengirl,whosaid:“The nightingaleI knowhim well.Yes,indeed hecan sing.Every eveningI getleave tocarryscraps fromtable tomy sickmother.She livesdown bythe shore.When Istart backI amtired,and restin thewoods.Then I hear thenightingale sing.It brings tears tomy eyes.Its as if〃my motherwere kissingme.〃“Little kitchengirl,said theLord-in-Waiting,T11have youappointed scullionfor life,,r11even getpermission foryou towatch the Emperor dine,if you11take usto thenightingale,who iscommanded toappear atcourt thisevening.zSo theywent into theforestwhere thenightingale usuallysang.Half thecourt wentalong.Onthe waytotheforest acow began to moo.〃〃0h,cried a courtier,“that mustbe it.What apowerful voicefor acreature sosmall,r m,sure Iveheard hersing before.z〃No,that,sthecow lowing,z,said the little kitchengirl.〃We stillhave a long wayto go.〃Then thefrogs in the marshbegantocroak.〃〃“Glorious!”said theChinese courtperson.Now Ihear it-like churchbells ringing.No,thatsthe frogs,z/said the little kitchengirl.But Ithink weshall hearhim soon.〃Then thenightingale sang.〃〃“Thats it,said thelittle kitchengirl.Listen,listen!And yonderhe sits.She pointedtoa littlegray birdhigh upinthebranches.〃Is itpossible”cried theLord-in Waiting.Well,I neverwould havethought helooked likethat,so unassuming.But hehas probablyturned paleat seeingso manyimportant peoplearound〃him.〃〃“Little nightingale,the kitchengirl calledto him,our graciousEmperor wantsto hearyou sing.“With the greatest ofpleasure,answered thenightingale,and burstinto song.,“Very similartothesound ofglass bells,z said theLord-in-Waiting.Just seehis littlethroat,,how busilyit throbs.Im astoundedthat we have neverheard himbefore,r msure he11beagreatsuccess atcourt.”“Shall I sing tothe Emperoragain”asked thenightingale,for hethought that the Emperor waspresent.〃〃〃My goodlittle nightingale,said theLord-in-Waiting,I havethe honorto command your presenceatacourtfunction thisevening,where you*11delight HisMajesty the Emperor withyour charming〃song.〃〃My songsounds bestinthewoods,said thenightingale,but hewent with them willinglywhen,heheardit was the Emperor s wish.The palacehad beenespecially polishedfor theoccasion.The porcelainwalls andfloors shoneinthe raysof manygold lamps.The flowerswith tinklingbells on them hadbeen broughtintothe halls,and there was sucha commotionof comingand goingthat allthe bellschimed awayuntilyou couldscarcely hearyourself talk.In themiddle of thegreatthrone room,where the Emperor sat,therewas a goldenperch for thenightingale.The wholecourt was there,and theylet thelittle kitchengirl standbehind the〃door,now thatshe hadbeen appointedImperial Pot-Walloper.Everyone wasdressed in his best,and allstared atthelittlegray birdto whichthe Emperorgraciously nodded.,And thenightingale sangso sweetlythat tearscame intothe Emperors eyesand rolleddown his,cheeks.Then thenightingale sangstill moresweetly,and it wasthe Emperorsheart thatmelted.The Emperorwassotouched thathe wantedhis owngolden slipperhung roundthe nightingalesneck,but thenightingale declinedit withthanks.He hadalready beenamply rewarded.〃,〃,I haveseen tearsinthe Emperorseyes,he said.Nothing couldsurpass that.An Emperor〃stearsare strangelypowerful.I havemy reward.And hesang again,gloriously.〃〃Its themost charmingcoquetry weeverheard,said theladies-in-waiting.And theytook waterin their mouthsso they could gurglewhenanyonespoke tothem,hoping torival thenightingale.Even thelackeys andchambermaids said they weresatisfied,which wassaying agreat deal,forthey werethe hardestto please.Unquestionably thenightingale wasa success.He wasto stayatcourt,and havehis owncage.He hadpermission togo for a walktwice aday,and onceanight.,Twelve footmenattended him,each oneholding tighttoaribbon tiedtothe bird sleg.There,wasn tmuch funin suchoutings.〃The wholetown talkedabout themarvelous bird,and iftwo peoplemet,one couldscarcely say〃〃night beforethe othersaid gale,and thenthey wouldsigh inunison,with noneed forwords.〃Eleven pork-butchers childrenwere namednightingale,“but notone couldsing.One daythe Emperorreceived alarge packagelabeled TheNightingale.〃“This mustbe anotherbook aboutmy celebratedbird,he said.But it was notabook.In theboxwasawork ofart,an artificialnightingale mostlike the real oneexcept thatit wasencrustedwith diamonds,rubies andsapphires.When it was wound,the artificial bird couldsing oneofthe nightingalessongs whileit waggedits glitteringgold andsilver tail.Round itsneck hungaribbon inscribed:The Emperorof Japansnightingale isa poorthing comparedwith thatof〃〃the Emperorof China.Isnt thatnice”everyone said,and theman whohad broughtthe contraption〃was immediatelypromoted tobe Imperial-Nightingale-Fetcher-in-Chief.〃“Now letshave themsing together.What aduet that will be,said thecourtiers.So they had,to sing together,but itdidn tturn outso well,for the real nightingalesang whatevercameinto his head while the imitation bird sangby rote.,〃〃“Thats notthe newcomers fault,said the music master.He keepsperfect time,just as I〃have taughthim.Then theyhad the imitationbirdsing byitself.It metwith the same successasthe real nightingale,and besidesit wasmuch prettierto see,all sparklinglike braceletsand breastpins.Three andthirtytimes itsang theselfsame songwithout tiring.The courtierswould gladlyhave hearditagain,but theEmperor said the real nightingale shouldnow havehis turn.Where washe Noonehad noticedhim flyingouttheopen window,back to his homeinthegreen forest.“But whatmade himdo that”said theEmperor.All thecourtiers slanderedthenightingale,whom theycalled amost ungratefulwretch.z/Luckily,wehavethebestbird,z theysaid,and made theimitationone singagain.That wasthe thirty-fourth,time theyhad heardthesametune,but theydidn tquite knowit byheart because itwasa difficultpiece.And themusic masterpraised the artificial birdbeyond measure.Yes,he said that thecontraptionwasmuchbetter thantherealnightingale,not onlyin itsdress and its manybeautifuldiamonds,but alsoin itsmechanical interior.“You see,ladies andgentlemen,and aboveall YourImperial Majesty,with arealnightingaleonenever knowswhat toexpect,but withthis artificial bird everythinggoes accordingtoplan.Nothing isleft tochance.I canexplain itand takeit topieces,and showhow themechanical,wheels arearranged,how theygo around,and howone followsafter another.z“Those areour sentimentsexactly,said theyall,and themusic masterwas commandedto havethebird givea publicconcert nextSunday.The Emperor said thathis peopleshould hearit.And hearittheydid,with asmuch pleasureas iftheyhadall gottentipsy ontea,Chinese fashion.Everyone〃〃〃said,0h,and heldup thefinger wecall“lickpot,and noddedhishead.But thepoor fishermenwhohad heardtherealnightingale said,“This isvery pretty,very nearlytherealthing,but,,not quite.I cant imaginewhats lacking.zThe realnightingale hadbeen banishedfrom theland.In itsplace,theartificial bird sat ona cushionbeside the Emperors bed.All itsgold andjeweled presentslay aboutit,and itstitle,was nowGrand ImperialSinger-of-the-Emperor-to-sleep.z Inrank itstood firstfrom the left,for theEmperor gavepreeminence totheleftside becauseoftheheart.Even anEmperors heartison theleft.The music master wrotea twenty-five-volume bookabouttheartificial bird.It waslearned,long-winded,and fullof hardChinese words,yet everybodysaid theyread andunderstood it,lestthey showthemselves stupidand wouldthen havebeen punchedintheirstomachs.After a year theEmperor,his court,and allthe otherChinamen knewevery twitteroftheartificialsong byheart.They likedit allthe betternow thattheycouldsing itthemselves.Which they,,did.The streeturchins sang,“Zizizi!kluk,kluk,kluk,z and theEmperorsang ittoo.Thats howpopular itwas.,But onenight,whiletheartificialbird was singinghis bestbytheEmperorsbed,somethinginside thebird brokewith atwang.Whir-r-r,allthewheels randown and themusicstopped.Outof bedjumped theEmperor andsent for his ownphysician,but whatcould hedo Thenhe sentfora watchmaker,who conferred,and investigated,and patchedup thebird aftera fashion.But thewatchmakersaidthatthebirdmustbespared too much exertion,forthecogs werebadly wornandif hereplaced themit wouldspoil thetune.This wasterrible.Only onceayearcould theyletthe birdsing,andthatwas almosttoomuchfor it.But themusicmastermade alittle speechfullof hardChinese wordswhich meantthatthebirdwasas good as itever was.So thatmadeit asgoodasever.Five yearspassed by,and areal sorrowbefell thewhole country.The Chinamenloved theirEmperor,and nowhe fellill.Ill untodeath,itwassaid.A newEmperorwaschosen inreadiness.Peoplestood inthe palacestreet andasked theLord—in—Waiting howit wentwith theirEmperor.〃〃P,said he,and shookhishead.Cold andpale laytheEmperorin hisgreat magnificent bed.All thecourtiers thoughthe wasdead,and wentto dohomage tothe newEmperor.The lackeyswent offto tradegossip,andthechambermaidsgave acoffee partybecauseitwas sucha specialoccasion.Deep matswere laidin allthe roomsandpassageways,to muffleeach footstep.It was quiet inthepalace,dead quiet.But theEmperorwas notyet dead.Stiff andpale helay,in hismagnificentbedwiththelong velvetcurtainsand theheavy goldtassels.High inthe wallwas anopen window,through whichmoonlight fellontheEmperorand hisartificialbird.The poorEmperor couldhardly breathe.It wasasifsomething weresitting onhis chest.Openinghis eyeshe sawitwas Death who sat there,wearing theEmperors crown,handling theEmperorsgold sword,and carryingtheEmperorssilk banner.Among thefolds ofthegreatvelvet curtainstherewere strangelyfamiliar faces.Some werehorrible,others gentleand kind.They weretheEmperors deeds,good andbad,who cameback tohim nowthat Deathsatonhis heart.〃-?〃〃Dont youremember theywhispered oneafter theother.Dont youremember-”And theytoldhim ofthings thatmadethecold sweatrun onhis forehead.〃No,I willnot remember!z/said theEmperor.Music,music,sound thegreat drumof Chinalest〃Ihearwhat theysay!But theywent onwhispering,and Deathnodded,Chinese fashion,at everyword.“Music,music!”theEmperorcalled.Sing,my preciouslittle goldenbird,sing!I havegivenyou goldand preciouspresents.I havehung mygolden slipperaround yourneck.Sing,I prayyou,sing!”But thebird stoodsilent.There wasnooneto windit,nothing tomake itsing.Death keptstaringthrough hisgreat holloweyes,anditwasquiet,deadly quiet.Suddenly,through thewindow camea burstof song.It wasthelittlelive nightingalewhosat,outside ona spray.He hadheard oftheEmperors plight,and hadcome tosing ofcomfort andhope.As hesang,the phantomsgrew pale,and stillmore pale,andtheblood flowedquicker and,〃quicker throughtheEmperors feeblebody.Even Deathlistened,and said,Go on,little nightingale,〃go on!〃,“But,saidthelittle nightingale,“will yougive backthat sword,that banner,that Emperorscrown”And Deathgave backthese treasuresforasong.The nightingalesang on.It sangofthequietchurchyard wherewhite rosesgrow,wheretheelder flowersmake theair sweet,and wherethe grassisalways green,wet withthe tearsof thosewho arestill alive.Death longedforhisgarden.Out throughthe windowsdrifted acold graymist,asDeathdeparted.“Thank you,thank you!”theEmperorsaid.Little birdfrom Heaven,I knowyou ofold.I banishedyouonce frommy land,and yetyou havesung awaythe evilfaces frommy bed,and Deathfrom myheart.How canI repayyou”〃〃“You have already rewardedme,saidthenightingale.I broughttears toyour eyeswhen firstIsang foryou.To theheart ofa singerthose aremore preciousthan anyprecious stone.But・〃sleep now,and growfresh andstrong whileIsingHe sangon untiltheEmperorfell into a sound,refreshing sleep,a.sweet andsoothing slumber.The sunwas shiningin hiswindow whentheEmperorawoke,restored andwell.Not oneof hisservantshad returnedtohim,for theythought himdead,but thenightingale stillsang.“You muststay withme always,z/saidtheEmperor.Sing tome onlywhen youplease.〃Ishallbreak theartificialbirdintoathousand pieces.〃〃〃No,saidthenightingale.It didits best.Keep itnear you.I cannotbuild mynest here,or livein apalace,so letme comeasI will.Then Ishall sitonthespray byyour window,andsing thingsthatwillmake youhappy andthoughtful too.r11sing aboutthosewhoare gay,andthose whoare sorrowful.My songswill tellyou ofallthegood andevil thatyou donot see.,A littlesinging birdflies farand wide,tothefisherman shut,tothefarmer*s home,and tomanyother placesalongway offfrom youandyourcourt.I loveyour heartbetterthanIdoyourcrown,and yetthe crownhas beenblessed too.Iwillcome andsingtoyou,if youwill promise〃me onething.〃“All thatI haveis yours,cried theEmperor,who stoodinhisimperial robes,which hehadput onhimself,and heldhis heavygold swordtohisheart.〃“One thingonly,thenightingaleasked.You mustnot letanyone knowthatyouhavealittlebird whotells youeverything;then allwill goeven better.And awayhe flew.The servantscame into lookafter theirdead Emperor-and therethey stood.And theEmperorsaid,〃“Good morning.。