“The book says there is a Nightingale,” said the Emperor; “if the Nightingale is not here to sing for me this evening I will have the court trampled upon, immediately after supper.”

The Chamberlain did not want to be trampled upon, so he ran out and asked everybody in the palace about the Nightingale.  At last, a little girl who worked in the kitchen to help the cook, said, “Oh, yes, I know the Nightingale very well.  Every night, when I go to carry scraps from the kitchen to my mother, who lives in the wood beyond the forest, I hear the Nightingale sing.”

The Chamberlain asked the maid to take him to the Nightingale’s home, and many of the lords and ladies followed after.  When they had gone a little way, they heard a cow moo.

“Ah!” said the lords and ladies, “that must be the Nightingale; what a large voice for so small a creature!”

“Oh, no,” said the little girl, “that is just a cow, mooing.”

A little farther on they heard some bullfrogs, in a swamp.  “Surely that is the Nightingale,” said the courtiers; “it really sounds like church-bells!”

“Oh, no,” said the little girl, “those are bullfrogs, croaking.”

At last they came to the wood where the Nightingale was.  “Hush!” said the little girl, “she is going to sing.”  And, sure enough, the little Nightingale began to sing.  She sang so beautifully that you have never in all your life heard anything like it.

“Dear, dear,” said the courtiers, “that is very pleasant; does that little grey bird really make all that noise?  She is so pale that I think she has lost her colour for fear of us.”

The Chamberlain asked the little Nightingale to come and sing for the Emperor.  The little Nightingale said she could sing better in her own greenwood, but she was so sweet and kind that she came with them.

That evening the palace was all trimmed with the most beautiful flowers you can imagine, and rows and rows of little silver bells, that tinkled when the wind blew in, and hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of wax candles, that shone like tiny stars.  In the great hall there was a gold perch for the Nightingale, beside the Emperor’s throne.

When all the people were there, the Emperor asked the Nightingale to sing.  Then the little grey Nightingale filled her throat full, and sang.  And, my dears, she sang so beautifully that the Emperor’s eyes filled up with tears!  And, you know, emperors do not cry at all easily.  So he asked her to sing again, and this time she sang so marvellously that the tears came out of his eyes and ran down his cheeks.  That was a great success.  They asked the little Nightingale to sing, over and over again, and when they had listened enough the Emperor said that she should be made “Singer in Chief to the Court.”  She was to have a golden perch near the Emperor’s bed, and a little golden cage, and was to be allowed to go out twice every day.  But there were twelve servants appointed to wait on her, and those twelve servants went with her every time she went out, and each of the twelve had hold of the end of a silken string which was tied to the little Nightingale’s leg!  It was not so very much fun to go out that way!