Summary “Nightingale” by Andersen


Behind the garden of the Chinese emperor was a forest, and in the woods there lived a nightingale who sang so well that even a poor fisherman forgot about his seine, but then again took up his business and did not think about the nightingale until the next night. Travelers said that the nightingale is the best that the emperor has. Having learned from books about the nightingale, the emperor wished to listen to him in the evening and gave the order to the important first minister. The minister interviewed the whole palace – no one knew about such a bird. After threatening to stick a stick on the heels of the stick, the courtiers moved more actively, and finally a small dishwasher, living with a sick mother near the sea, was able to show the nightingale. On the way to it the courtiers took for a nightingale song the mooing of a cow, or the croaking of frogs; when the girl pointed to a small gray bird, the courtiers were not impressed by his poor attire, but the song was enthralled.

When

the nightingale sang with great pomp in the palace, the emperor’s eyes were filled with tears. The nightingale did not want the best award. The bird became very popular and settled in the palace, under the supervision of servants. Once the Japanese emperor sent as a gift to a colleague of a golden nightingale, studded with precious stones, who could sing one song from the repertoire of a living bird. The nightingale flew away, and the toy was showered with honors. Only poor fishermen admitted that the toy only resembles a living nightingale.

A year later, the golden bird broke down – the teeth on the castors were erased – and the decree was issued only once a year. Five years later, the emperor fell ill. He saw how Death sits on his chest, and terrible faces around each other whisper: “Do you remember…” The toy was silent on its silk pillow – there was nobody to get it. Suddenly a nightingale appeared, who forced his death to return to the cemetery. As a reward, the nightingale asked only not to tell others that he would come to the emperor, and not to break

the toy that served faithfully. In the morning the courtiers came to see the deceased ruler – and found him alive. Said Mouse

Foreigners, visiting China, admired the rich palace, built of the finest porcelain, and a garden with amazing colors. And after returning home and describing their impressions in the books, they unanimously maintained that the country is wonderful, but the bird living in the woods behind the imperial garden is the best that exists in China.

The Emperor, reading books with enthusiastic descriptions of his country, was flattered, but every time the nightingale was mentioned, he was indignant that the whole world knew about the bird, and he had never heard it. The emperor demanded from the servants that in the evening the nightingale would sing to him. It turned out that no one knows about this bird. Only a girl working in the kitchen knew the nightingale. She lived next to the forest, where he sang every night. The little girl took them to the nightingale.

Seeing the gray bird, the courtiers were disappointed, but, hearing his singing, were fascinated by the nightingale, however, like the emperor himself. From the nightingale trill, the emperor was seized by the heart, and tears of happiness rolled down his cheeks. Tears of joy became the best reward for a nightingale.

Once the emperor was presented with a clockwork nightingale, encrusted with precious stones and able to perform one melody. While the emperor and his servants admired the singing of the clockwork, the real nightingale left the palace. The Emperor in anger forbade the nightingale to appear in the palace.

During the year, the courtyard and the country continuously listened to the clockwork bird and wrote books about it, but once inside it something started to whirr, the buzz stopped and the singing stopped. It turned out that the mechanisms were worn out, and they could not be replaced. Over the next five years, the precious bird was planted only once a year and then for a short while.

The emperor grew old and very ill. The courtiers had already said goodbye to him and were preparing to name a new emperor, and even Death came to him and sat on his chest. The whole life of the emperor flashed before his eyes, he became so frightened that he prayed a clockwork bird about the song, but there was nobody to get it. Death was already prepared to take the emperor, when suddenly a nightingale trill sounded. It was a nightingale who knew about the Emperor’s illness and came to support him. The Nightingale sang all night and drove away Death. Waking up early in the morning healthy, the emperor thanked the nightingale, asked for forgiveness and asked him to stay at the court, but the nightingale preferred to fly to his own forest and fly to the emperor to tell in the songs about everything that happens in the state.


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Summary “Nightingale” by Andersen