Page 59 - English Reader - 3

One day, the emperor was sitting in a sad mood because the nightingale had not come
for the past two days. Seeing his condition, one of his ministers said, ‘‘Your highness,

you are the emperor of this kingdom. Why don’t you order the nightingale to stay in
your palace. Then you shall be able to hear her song forever.’’

The emperor liked the idea. He sent for the nightingale.

When the nightingale came, he repeated his wish to the little bird.

‘‘My song sounds best in the open air,’’ said the nightingale. But the emperor insisted
that she stayed with him in the palace. He even offered her a golden cage and twelve

attendants.

The nightingale agreed reluctantly to stay in the palace. She would sing for the emperor
every day. However, she was not at all happy in the cage.

One day, the king of Japan came to visit the emperor.

He brought a nightingale for the emperor. It looked beautiful and sang a sweet song.
But it was an artificial bird. It had diamonds and rubies on its wings and beak. It had

a key. When the key was wound up, the bird
would sing.

The king of Japan asked his attendants to

make the real nightingale and the artificial

nightingale sit on two cushions and sing a few
songs each.

The artificial bird sang three times, but each

time it was the same song. Then came the turn
of the real nightingale. But where was she?

No one had noticed her fly out of the open
window, back to the forest, her home.

The emperor felt cheated as the bird had left him like this. He was furious with her and

banished her from the palace.

Since that day, the artificial nightingale sang for the emperor whenever it was wound

up. One evening, as the artificial bird was singing, something went ‘pop’ inside it and
the music stopped. The bird would not sing anymore, no matter what the emperor said

or did.

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