Nattergalen

Emperor Jǐn, the thirteenth sovereign of the Xia Dynasty, was a greedy man. He had only interest in himself and cared not for the welfare of others. He ordered that every household in his land was to present to him one gift. With China being a prosperous and largely populated land, Jǐn received many gifts and offerings from the people of the country, from both the rich and the poor. The peasants presented him with baskets of sweet berries and vibrant flowers picked by daughters, wooden sculptures carved by fathers and sons, and silk woven by mothers. The wealthy presented the emperor with precious stones that glittered and shone, shields of precious metals handcrafted by their servants or skilled blacksmiths and sacrificed livestock. One by one, the families approached the emperor in his palace and laid their gifts at his feet. The emperor was pleased with his gifts.

One year passed and the emperor Jǐn grew bored of the gifts that his people had given him. The berries had all been consumed and the flowers had wilted, the wooden sculptures had rotted and the patterns the silks bore no longer suited his taste. The precious stones and shields had lost their novelty and shine and the sacrificed livestock had long since been cooked and eaten.

Emperor Jǐn ordered for the families of China to once again present him with gifts. The rich presented the emperor with more precious stones that shone brighter and shimmered, stronger shields of even rarer metals and more impressive sacrifices. But the peasants of China struggled to find gifts to present to their emperor as the previous year’s gift giving had left them even poorer than before. Each family managed to give Jǐn something - a bundle of flowers, handmade wines, produce from their farms - except for one.

An elderly woman lived alone in a forest near the ocean. She had never married and she had no children. All of her friends and family had died years and years ago. When the news of the emperor’s request reached her, she panicked. She had nothing to give and not enough money to buy something. She knew that Emperor Jǐn had little patience and compassion for those who could not meet his needs. She searched for days and days for something that she could present to the emperor but found nothing. The elderly woman sat on the steps of her house and wept, for the emperor would surely have her sentenced to death if she did not arrive at his palace with a gift in hand or mind.

Suddenly, the old woman’s ears were greeted with the most beautiful sound. Never before, in all her years of life, had the woman heard such a beautiful sound. It was a birdsong, though of which bird she didn’t know. Forgetting her sorrow, the old woman wandered into the forest in search of the creature that was creating that breathtaking song. When finally she found the bird she saw that it was a Nightingale. The Nightingale lay on the ground for it had an injured wing. The old woman bent down and scooped the bird into her arms and carried it back to her house. The woman cared for the bird and nursed it back to health. When the Nightingale was able to fly again it flew to the old woman and sat on her shoulder.

“For your kindness to me, I am forever in your debt. I shall grant any wish you ask of me.”

The old woman was amazed that the bird could speak. She had never encountered a talking animal before and so she was hesitant to trust the bird.

“Turn that apple into gold,” she requested, pointing at an apple hanging on a tree outside. The bird sang a few notes of its birdsong and the apple turned to gold. The woman could not believe her eyes.

Catching sight of her spotted and wrinkled hands the old woman said, “Make me young again.” Once again the Nightingale sang a few notes and the woman became young and beautiful. She stared at the bird in astonishment for a few moments before an idea came to her.

When it came for the woman to present her gift to the emperor she had nothing.

“Why does this young woman have nothing to give?” Jǐn asked one of his advisors when the woman knelt before him. He was most displeased with her lack of a gift and was already considering having her executed.

“I do not know, sire,” the advisor replied. He turned to the woman and asked, “His Majesty requested that every household in the country bring him a gift. It appears that you have none. Explain yourself.”

The woman rose to her feet and spoke, “I understand that His Majesty has a love of arts.” Emperor Jǐn nodded. “Has His Majesty not heard the song of the Nightingale? Not only is it the most beautiful sound to grace one’s ears but the Nightingale can grant wishes. I was old and now I am young again.”

Greedy as ever, Emperor Jǐn accepted the woman’s offer. “Very well,” he said, “bring me this bird. If it can grant wishes like you say, I shall spare your life and reward you greatly.”

The woman nodded and left Jǐn’s palace. But the emperor had a son, Jin Fa, who was as greedy as his father and Jin Fa had heard the woman’s offer. He knew his father well and he knew that his father would ask the Nightingale for eternal life and youth. Jin Fa wanted to become emperor someday and so he devised a plan to have the woman thrown in jail and condemned to death for witchcraft.

Jin Fa presented his father with a mechanical Nightingale made from gold and silver and encrusted with jewels. The mechanical Nightingale sang a beautiful song and the emperor, who had never heard the original Nightingale sing, could not imagine any sound more satisfying. He quickly grew tired with the idea of the real Nightingale, even one that could grant wishes. When the woman returned with the Nightingale, Emperor Jǐn ordered for her to be thrown in jail and set a date for her execution.

The woman called to the Nightingale from her dungeon and it came and sat with her.

“Nightingale, set me free from this place,” she said. But not even the Nightingale’s magic could free the woman. The woman wept and in her heart a resentment for Emperor Jǐn grew.

The Nightingale stayed in the palace, fluttering around the rooms and listening to conversations. One night, the Nightingale overheard Jin Fa speaking with one of his companions and learnt of the prince’s plot. The Nightingale flew back to the woman and told her what the prince had done. The woman felt ashamed for resenting the emperor and she told the bird, “When the emperor is old and weary and close to death, go to him and sing your birdsong. Cure him of his ailment so that he may live many more years. Now go.”

As it could do nothing more for the woman, the Nightingale flew back to its forest.

The emperor lived for many years. His son wanted so desperately to become the emperor of China that he poisoned his father at a banquet. But the poison that Jin Fa had chosen was a slow-moving poison and the emperor remained bedridden for many days. When the emperor was close to death he heard a birdsong. The song could be heard all throughout the palace and all across the land. No one had ever heard such a beautiful song. Emperor Jǐn thought of the young witch he had sentenced to death many years ago.

The Nightingale flew in through and open window and sat by Jǐn’s side. When it opened its beak and began to talk, Jǐn and his advisors and doctors were astonished.

“Many years ago a young witch was executed. She was not a witch, but a poor elderly woman to whom I gave youth in return for the kindness she showed me. When she offered to bring me to you, your son knew that you would ask me to grant you the gift of eternal life but he wanted to be emperor so he presented you with a mechanical bird in hopes that you would lose interest in the woman’s offer. When the woman learned of what your son had done, she felt ashamed, for she had resented you for condemning her to death. She told me to return to you in many years time when you fell ill so that I might sing to you and cure you of your sickness. And so I have returned to you as she instructed me to do so because your son has poisoned you and brought a mysterious ailment upon you. I shall cure you, sire, so that you might live for many more years.”

The Nightingale sang its beautiful birdsong and a state of calm and tranquility fell over all of China like a blanket. Subsequently Emperor Jǐn was cured of his ailment and he ordered for his deceitful son to be exiled.

In honor of the young woman he had mistaken for a witch, he erected a golden statue by the seaside.