Showing results for "Nightingale" in Animals & Nature

Hoping to erase her tragic past, Empress Wu fills her kingdom with all beautiful things. She wants the Nightingale for its beautiful song. After sending her advisors to find the bird, Nightingale comes to her and offers to stay in her kingdom. Saddened by his captivity, Nightingale wishes to leave. Will the empress allow him to go?

In The Nightingale, Hans Christian Andersen weaves a timeless fable of authenticity, beauty, and redemption. Set in an enchanted vision of imperial China, the story follows a humble nightingale whose song captivates the hearts of all who hear it—even the mighty emperor himself. When an ornate artificial bird replaces the real one at court, the soul-stirring power of nature is cast aside in favor of predictable perfection. But when illness and death come for the emperor, only the return of the living nightingale's song can offer healing and hope.

The Emperor of China learns that one of the most beautiful things in his empire is the song of the nightingale. When he orders the nightingale brought to him, a kitchen maid leads the court to a nearby forest, where the nightingale agrees to appear at court, where it remains as the Emperor's favorite. When the Emperor is given a bejeweled mechanical bird he loses interest in the real nightingale, who returns to the forest. The mechanical bird eventually breaks down; and the Emperor is taken deathly ill a few years later. The real nightingale learns of the Emperor's condition and returns to the palace; whereupon Death is so moved by the nightingale's song that he allows the Emperor to live.