As you probably know, in China, the emperor is from China, and the people around him are also from China. This story happened many years ago. The emperor's official residence is the most magnificent in the world. It is made entirely of fine tiles. It is precious, but it is also fragile. If you want to touch it, you must be extremely careful. People can see the strangest flowers in the world in the royal garden. The most expensive flowers are tied with silver bells, so passers-by have to pay attention as soon as they hear the bell. Yes, everything in the emperor's garden is beautifully decorated. This garden is so big that even the gardener doesn't know where its end is. If a person goes straight ahead, he can go through a dense forest, where there is a tall tree and a deep lake. The forest extends to the deep blue sea. The great ship can sail under the branches. There lived a nightingale in the Woods. Its singing is so beautiful that even a busy poor fisherman has to stop to enjoy it when he hears the nightingale singing when he goes out to close the net at night.

"My God, how beautiful!" He said. But he must do his job, so he must forget the bird. But the next night, the bird sang again. When the fisherman heard this song, he couldn't help saying the same thing: "My God, how beautiful it is!" "

Tourists from all over the world come to the emperor's capital to enjoy the imperial city, official halls and gardens. But when they heard the nightingale singing, they all said, "This is the most beautiful thing!" " "

When these travelers returned to their motherland, they talked about it. Therefore, many literati have written many books about imperial cities, palaces and gardens, and those who can write poems have also written many beautiful poems to praise the nightingale who lives in the Woods.

These books are popular all over the world. Several books were actually very popular with the emperor. He sat in his golden chair, reading and nodding every second, because the detailed description of the imperial city, palaces and gardens made him feel very comfortable to read.

"But the nightingale is the most beautiful thing," the sentence was clearly put in front of him.

"What is this?" The emperor said. "nightingale! I didn't know this nightingale existed! Is there such a bird in my empire? Is it in my garden? I have never heard of such a thing! Can only be read in books! "

So he called his entourage. This is a noble figure. Anyone younger than him, as long as he dares to talk to him or ask him anything, he always simply answers: "bah!" " -this word is meaningless.

"It is said that there is a strange bird called nightingale here!" The emperor said. "People say it is the most precious thing in my great empire. Why has no one ever mentioned it in front of me? "

"I have never heard of its name," said the courtier. "No one has ever brought it to the palace!"

"I ordered: I must bring it here tonight and sing in front of me." The emperor said. "The whole world knows what good things I have, but I don't know myself!"

"I have never heard of its name," said the courtier. "I have to look for it! I have to look for it! "

But where can I find it? Courtiers walked up and down the steps and ran around the halls and corridors, but everyone he met said that he had never heard of any nightingale. The courtiers had to run back to the emperor and said that this must be a myth fabricated by the writer.

Your majesty, please don't believe what is written in the book. Most of these things are nonsense-the so-called' nonsense'. "

"But the book I read," said the emperor, "was sent by the powerful Japanese emperor, so it must not be fabricated. I want to hear the nightingale sing! We must get it tonight! I ordered it to come! If you can't come tonight, everyone in the official will be beaten in the stomach as soon as they finish eating! "

"admire (1) (this is a transliteration of a Chinese word quoted by Andersen, the original text is jsing'Pe! ! ) "said the courtiers. So he walked up and down the steps again, running up and down the halls and corridors. Half the people in the palace ran around with him because no one wanted to be beaten in the stomach.

So they began a large-scale investigation, investigating this strange nightingale-a nightingale that everyone knows except the official court.

Finally, they met a poor little girl in the kitchen. She said:

"Oh, my God, you are looking for the nightingale! I know all this too well. It sings beautifully. Every night, I am allowed to take some rice grains left on the table home to my poor sick mother, who lives by the sea. When I was tired on my way home, I rested in the Woods, and then I heard the nightingale singing. Then my tears came out and I felt like my mother was kissing me! "

"Little girl!" The courtier said, "I will try to get you a permanent position in the kitchen and show you the emperor's privilege of eating." But you must take us to see the nightingale, because it will perform in front of the emperor tonight. "

So they walked together to the forest where nightingales often sang. Half the people in the palace have gone out. When they were walking, a cow began to crow.

"ah!" A young aristocrat said, "Now we can find it!" Such a small animal is very loud! I've heard this voice somewhere before. "

"Wrong, this is Niu Jiao!" Meidochan in the kitchen said. "We are still far from that place."

Then, the frog in the swamp cried.

The court priest in China said, "Now I hear it-it sounds like Jason Chung in a temple."

"Wrong, this is the frog's cry!" Meidochan in the kitchen said. "But I think we can hear the nightingale soon."

So the nightingale began to sing.

"This is it!" Meidochan said, "Listen, listen! It lives there. "

She pointed to a gray bird on the branch.

"Is this possible?" The courtiers said. "I never thought it would be like this! Look how ordinary it is! This must be because it lost its luster when it saw so many officials around it. "

"Little Nightingale!" Meidochan in the kitchen shouted, "Our kind emperor wants you to sing in front of him."

"I am very happy!" The nightingale said that it sang a beautiful song.

"Sounds like a glass bell!" The courtiers said. "You see, how well its little voice sings! Strange to say, we have never heard of it before. This bird will definitely make everyone happy when it comes to the palace! "

"Do you want me to sing in front of the emperor again?" Asked the nightingale, because it thought the emperor was there.

"My perfect nightingale!" The courtier said, "I feel very honored to order you to attend the banquet in the palace." You have to entertain the emperor of the holy dynasty with your wonderful voice. "

"My song can only be sung best in the green forest!" Said the nightingale. However, when it heard that the emperor wanted to see it, it went anyway.

The palace is newly decorated. Tile walls and paved floors sparkle in the light of countless golden lamps. The most beautiful bell flower is now moved to the corridor. There were a lot of people running around in the corridor, and a breeze rolled up, making all the silver bells jingle so that people couldn't even hear themselves.

In the center of the hall where the emperor sat, a golden perch was erected, on which the nightingale could perch. The whole court came, and Meidochan in the kitchen was allowed to stand behind the door and wait on her-because she now has a real title of "kitchen servant". Everyone put on their best clothes. Everyone looked at the gray bird and the emperor nodded to it.

So the nightingale sang so beautifully that even the emperor shed tears. All the way to the face. When the nightingale sang more beautifully, its song touched the emperor's heartstrings. The emperor looked so happy that he even ordered his gold slippers to be hung around the bird's neck. But the nightingale refused, saying that she had given enough.

"I saw the tears in the eyes of the emperor-this is the most precious thing for me. The emperor's tears have a special power. God knows, I have paid a lot! " So it sang again with a sweet and happy voice.

"We have never seen such a lovely coquetry!" Some ladies-in-waiting present said. When people talk to them, they deliberately pour water into their mouths and giggle: they think they are nightingales, too. Pages and maids also express their opinions and say that they are satisfied-this kind of comment is not simple, because they are the most difficult people to be satisfied. Bottom line: The Nightingale was a great success.

The nightingale will now live in the palace and have its own cage-it will only go out freely twice during the day and take a walk once at night. There are always twelve servants following each time. They are holding a silk thread tied to its leg-they always pull it tightly. Traveling like this is not an easy and pleasant thing.

People all over the capital are talking about this strange bird. When two people meet, one only needs to say "night", and the other goes on to say "warbler". So they sighed and understood each other. 1 1 Every child who works as a street vendor is named "Nightingale", but none of them can sing a tune.

One day the emperor received a big package with two words written on it-"Nightingale".

"This is another book about our famous birds!" The emperor said.

But this is not a book, but a handicraft in a box-an artificial nightingale. It looks exactly like a natural nightingale, but it is covered with diamonds, rubies and sapphires. This artificial bird can sing a real nightingale song as long as you wind it up. At the same time, its tail moves up and down, emitting gold and silver light. There is a small ribbon around its neck, which reads: "The nightingale of the Japanese emperor is slightly inferior to the Japanese emperor!" "

"It's really luxurious!" Everyone said. The man who sent this artificial nightingale was immediately awarded a title: "Royal Chief Nightingale Messenger". "Now let them sing together. What a wonderful duet it will be!"

In this way, they have to sing together, but this method doesn't work, because this artificial bird can only sing the old tune of "waltz", while the real nightingale just sings in her own way.

So this artificial bird had to sing alone. Its success can be compared with that of a real nightingale. Besides, it has a beautiful appearance, shining like a gold bracelet and a collar button.

It sang the same tune for thirty-three times, but it didn't feel tired at all. Everyone is willing to continue listening, but the emperor said that the living nightingale should also sing something-but where did it go? No one noticed that it had flown out of the window and returned to its green forest.

"What do you mean?" The emperor said.

All courtiers cursed the nightingale, saying it was an ungrateful thing.

"Fortunately, we still have a top bird." They said.

So the artificial bird is going to sing again. They listened to the same tune again-the thirty-fourth time. Even so, they still can't remember it, because it's a difficult piece of music. However, this bird was highly praised by musicians. The musician said with certainty, "It's much better than a real nightingale! Not only its beautiful feathers and precious gems, but also its interior. "

He also said: "Ladies and gentlemen, especially your Majesty, you should know that you will never guess what a real nightingale will sing;" However, in this artificial nightingale's body, everything has been arranged, and it can sing whatever it wants! You can take it apart and look at its internal activities: where does its' waltz' start and end, and what other tunes will be connected. "

"This is exactly what we want." Everyone said.

So musicians are allowed to show the bird to people in public next Sunday. The emperor said that ordinary people should also listen to its songs. Later, when they heard it, they all felt very satisfied, as happy as they had just had a cup of tea-because tea is China's habit. They all said, "Great!" At the same time, give a thumbs-up and nod. But the fisherman who heard the real nightingale sing said, "In fact, it sings beautifully, like a real bird, but it always seems to lack something, something I can't say!" "

Since then, the real nightingale has been exiled from this land and empire.

But this artificial nightingale took a place on the silk mat beside the emperor's bed. It gets gifts like gold and jewels-all displayed around it. He was awarded the honorary title of "Noble Royal Night Singer". Moreover, it was promoted to the position of "left head" because the emperor thought that the left side of the atrium was the most important side-everyone's heart was left, and the emperor was no exception. The musician wrote a 25-volume book about this artificial bird: it's a profound and long book, written in the most difficult Chinese characters. Ministers unanimously stated that they had studied the book and understood its contents because they were all afraid of being punished for being considered stupid by others.

A whole year has passed. The emperors, courtiers and others in China remembered every tune of the song sung by this artificial bird. But now everyone knows: everyone likes this bird better-now everyone can sing with it. The children in the street are singing, cheep-cheep-cheep-glug-glug! The emperor sang it himself-yes, it's lovely!

But one night, when the artificial bird was singing the most vigorously, when the emperor was lying in bed listening, the bird suddenly hissed. Something is broken. "Shh-"Suddenly, all the wheels turned wildly and the singing stopped.

The emperor immediately jumped out of bed and ordered his doctor to be called. But what could the doctor do, so everyone invited a watchmaker. After some consultation and inspection, he finally managed to repair the bird, but he said that the bird must be carefully protected in the future, because the gears in it have worn out, and it is a difficult job to match it with new music. This is really a sad thing! This bird can only sing once a year, which is too much! But the musician made a short speech-full of difficult words-and he said the bird was as good as before, so of course it was as good as before. ...

Five years have passed. A very sad thing has finally happened in this country. The people in this country like their emperor very much, and now he is treating diseases. At the same time, he said that he would not stay in the world for long. The new emperor has been chosen. The Ministry of Civil Affairs ran into the street and asked the courtiers about their old emperor's illness.

"Bah!" He shook his head and said.

The emperor was lying on his gorgeous big bed, cold and pale. The whole court thought he was dead, and everyone went to pay tribute to the new emperor. The servants all ran out to talk about it, and the maids began to prepare for the grand coffee party. All the places, halls and corridors are covered with cloth to prevent footsteps, so it's very quiet here now. But the emperor is not dead yet. He lay stiff and pale on a gorgeous bed with velvet curtains and thick golden ears. The window above is open, and the moon shines on the emperor and the artificial bird.

The poor emperor could hardly breathe. There seems to be something pressing on his chest. He opened his eyes and saw death sitting on his chest, wearing his golden crown, holding the emperor's sword in one hand and his luxurious flag in the other. There are many grotesque heads sneaking out from the folds of velvet curtains around, some are ugly, some are gentle and lovely. These things represent the good and bad things that the emperor did. Now death is sitting on his heart, and these strange heads are sticking out to see him.

"Do you remember this?" One by one, they whispered, "Do you remember?" They told him many things, which made his forehead sweat.

nightingale

"I don't know about it!" The emperor said. "Quick play music! Play the music quickly! Knock on the big drum! " He shouted, "so I can't hear what they are saying!" "

However, they have been talking. Death nodded at what they said-just like China.

"Play music! Play music! " The emperor cried. "You this precious golden bird, sing, sing! I gave you a valuable gold gift; I used to hang my gold slippers around your neck myself-now please sing, sing! "

But the bird stood still, because no one would wind it, and it couldn't sing without winding it. But death continued to stare at the emperor with his big empty eyes. There was silence all around, terrible silence.

At this moment, at this moment, the window sang the most beautiful song. This is a little nightingale alive. It lives on a branch outside. It heard the emperor's sadness, and now it began to sing some songs of comfort and hope to him. When it was singing, the faces of those ghosts gradually faded, and at the same time, blood began to flow actively in the weak limbs of the emperor. Even death himself began to listen to this song and said, "Sing, little nightingale, please keep singing!" "

"However, would you like to give me that beautiful Jin Jian? Can you give me that luxurious flag? Will you give me the emperor's crown? "

Death traded all these precious things for a song. So the nightingale continued to sing. It sings about the quiet churchyard-where white roses grow, elderberry trees exude sweet fragrance, and the new grass is covered with tears of survivors. At this time, death fondly missed his garden, so it turned into a cold white fog and disappeared in front of the window.

"Thank you, thank you!" The emperor said. "You sacred bird! I understand you now. I drove you out of my land and empire, but you drove away the evil faces by my bed with your songs and removed death from my heart. What can I repay you? "

"You have repaid me!" The nightingale said, "When I first sang, I got your tears from your eyes-I will never forget it." Every tear is a gem-it can make the singer's heart bloom. But please go to sleep now, please keep your spirit and become healthy, and I will sing another song for you. "

It sang like this-the emperor fell asleep sweetly. Ah, how gentle and pleasant this feeling is!

When he woke up, he felt refreshed and refreshed, and the sun shone on him through the window. None of his followers came because they thought he was dead. But the nightingale still stood beside him, singing.

"Please live with me forever," said the emperor. "You like singing. I will tear that artificial bird into 1000 pieces. "

"Please don't do this," said the nightingale. "It has done its best. Let it stay with you. I can't build a nest in the official residence; However, when I think of coming, please let me come. I will perch on the branches outside the window at dusk and sing you a song that makes you happy and thoughtful. I will sing about those who are happy and those who suffer. I will sing about the good and evil hidden around you. Your little songbird is going on a long trip now. It will fly to the poor fisherman, to the farmer's roof, and to everyone far away from you and your court. I love your heart more than your crown. However, the crown also has its sacred side. I'll come and sing for you again-but I ask you to promise me one thing. "

"Anything will do!" The emperor said. He stood in royal robes and held the heavy Jin Jian to his chest.

"I ask you one thing: please don't tell anyone that you have a bird that will tell you everything. Only in this way will everything be beautiful. "

So the nightingale flew away.

The attendants all came in to see their dead emperor-yes, they all stood there, and the emperor said, "Good morning!" " "