Fairy Tales
As you probably know, in China, the emperor was from China and the people around him were from China. This story happened many years ago. The emperor's official hall is the most magnificent in the world. It is completely made of meticulous tiles. It is very valuable, but it is very fragile. If you want to touch it, you must be extremely careful.
people can see the most exotic flowers in the world in the imperial garden. The most expensive flowers are all tied with silver bells, so that people who pass by have to pay attention to them as soon as they hear them. Yes, everything in the emperor's garden is beautifully arranged. The garden is so big that even the gardener doesn't know where it ends.
If a person keeps walking forward, he can come across a dense forest with a tall tree and a deep lake. The Woods stretch all the way to the deep blue sea.
huge ships can sail under the branches. There lived a nightingale in the Woods. It sings so beautifully that even a busy poor fisherman had to stop and enjoy it when he heard the nightingale singing when he went out to close the net at night.
"My God, how beautiful it is!" He said. But he had to do his job, so he had to forget about the bird. But the next night, the bird sang again. When the fisherman heard the song, he couldn't help saying the same thing, "My God, how beautiful it is!"
Travelers from all over the world come to the emperor's capital to enjoy the imperial city, official halls and gardens. But when they heard the nightingale singing, they all said, "This is the most beautiful thing!" "
these travelers talked about it after they returned to their home countries. So many scholars have written a lot of books about the imperial city, palaces and gardens, and those who can write poems have also written many most beautiful poems, praising the nightingale who lives in the Woods.
these books are popular all over the world. A few books were actually popular with the emperor. He sat in his golden chair and read and nodded every second, because the detailed descriptions of the imperial city, palaces and gardens made him feel very comfortable to read.
"But the nightingale is the most beautiful thing of all," this sentence was clearly put in front of him.
"what's going on?" The emperor said. "nightingale! I had no idea this nightingale existed! Is there this bird in my empire? And it's in my garden? I've never heard of such a thing! I can only read about it in books! "
so he called his attendants in. This is a noble figure. Anyone who is a little smaller than him, as long as he dares to talk to him or ask him something, he always simply answers, "bah!" -this word is meaningless.
"It is said that there is a strange bird called nightingale here!" The emperor said. "People say it is the most precious thing in my great empire. Why has no one ever mentioned it in front of me? "
"I've never heard its name," said the courtier. "No one has ever brought it to the palace!"
"I order: I must bring it here tonight and sing in front of me." The emperor said. "The whole world knows what good things I have, but I don't know myself!"
"I've never heard its name," said the courtier. "I have to look for it! I have to look for it! "
but where can I find it? The courtier walked up and down the steps and ran around the halls and corridors, but everyone he met said that he had never heard of any nightingale. The courtier had to run back to the emperor, saying that this must be a myth fabricated by the writer. Nightingale (2)
Fairy Tales
Your Majesty, please don't believe what is written in the book. Most of these things are nonsense-that is, the so-called' nonsense'. "
" But the book I read, "said the emperor," was sent by the mighty emperor of Japan, so it must not be fabricated. I want to hear the nightingale sing! We must get it here tonight! I ordered it to come! If it can't come tonight, all the people in the official will be slapped on the belly as soon as they finish dinner! "
"admire ①!" The courtiers said. So he walked up and down the steps again, running around the halls and corridors. Half the people in the palace are running around with him, because no one wants to be beaten in the stomach.
So they began a large-scale investigation, investigating this strange nightingale, which is known to everyone except the official court.
At last they met a poor little girl in the kitchen. She said,
"Oh, my God, you are looking for a nightingale! I know it all too well. It sings beautifully. Every night, I am allowed to take home some rice grains left on the table and give them to my poor sick mother, who lives near the coast. When I was tired on my way home, I took a rest in the Woods, and then I heard the nightingale sing. Then my tears came out, and I felt as if my mother were kissing me! "
① This is the transliteration of a Chinese character quoted by Andersen, and the original text is jsing'Pe!
"Little girl!" The courtier said, "I will try to get you a permanent position in the kitchen and give you the privilege of watching the emperor eat." But you have to take us to the nightingale, because it has to perform in front of the emperor tonight. "
So they went to the forest where nightingales often sang. Half the people in the palace are out. While they were walking, a cow began to crow.
"ah!" A young aristocrat said, "now we can find it!" Such a small animal, its voice is particularly loud! I have heard this voice somewhere before. "
"Wrong, this is Niu Jiao!" Said the little maid in the kitchen. "We are still far from that place. "
Then, frogs in the swamp cried.
The court priest in China said, "Now I can hear it-it sounds like a small bell in a temple."
"Wrong, this is the frog's cry!" Said the little maid in the kitchen. "But I think we can hear the nightingale singing soon."
so the nightingale began to sing.
"that's what it is!" The little maid said, "Listen, listen! It lives there. "
She pointed to a little gray bird on the branch.
"Is this possible?" The courtiers said. "I never thought it was so like! Look how ordinary it is! This must be because it lost its luster when it saw so many officials around. "
"Little nightingale!" The little maid in the kitchen shouted loudly, "Our kind emperor wants you to sing in front of him."
"I'm very happy!" Said the nightingale, and it sang a beautiful song.
"It sounds like a glass bell!" The courtiers said. "You see, how well its little voice sings! Strange to say, we have never heard of it before. This bird will definitely amuse everyone when it goes to the palace! " Nightingale (3)
Fairy Tales
"Do you want me to sing in front of the emperor again?" Asked the nightingale, because it thought the emperor was present.
"My perfect nightingale!" The courtier said, "I feel very honored to order you to attend a party in the palace." You have to entertain the emperor of the holy dynasty with your beautiful voice. "
"My songs are best sung only in the green Woods!" Said the nightingale. However, when it heard that the emperor wanted to see it, it went anyway.
The palace has been completely decorated. Tile walls and paved floors shine in the light of countless golden lamps. The most beautiful flowers with silver bells are now moved to the corridor. There are many people running around in the corridor, rolling up a breeze, making all the silver bells jingle so that people can't even hear themselves.
In the center of the main hall where the emperor sat, people erected a golden perch so that the nightingale could perch on it. The whole official court came, and the little maid in the kitchen was allowed to stand behind the door to wait on her-because she has now got a real title of "kitchen servant". Everyone put on their best clothes. Everyone looked at the gray bird, and the emperor nodded to it.
So the nightingale sang so beautifully that even the emperor shed tears. All the way to the face. When the nightingale sang more beautifully, its song touched the emperor's heartstrings. The emperor looked so happy that he even gave an order to hang his gold slippers around the bird's neck. But the nightingale declined, saying that it had been paid enough.
"I saw the tears in the emperor's eyes-this is the most precious thing to me. The emperor's tears have a special power. God knows, I have been paid a lot! " So it sang again with a sweet and happy voice.
"We have never seen such a cute coquetry!" Some ladies-in-waiting present said. When people talk to them, they deliberately pour water into their mouths and make a giggle: they think they are nightingales, too. The page and the maids also expressed their opinions and said that they were also satisfied-this kind of comment is not very simple, because they are the most difficult people to be satisfied. Bottom line: The nightingale was a great success.
The nightingale will now live in the palace and have its own cage-it is only free to go out twice during the day and once for a walk at night. There are always twelve servants following each time. They are holding a silk thread tied to its leg-and they always pull it tightly. Traveling like this is not an easy and pleasant thing.
People all over the capital are talking about this strange bird. When two people meet, one just needs to say "night" and the other goes on to say "warbler". So they sigh at each other and understand each other. Eleven children who are vendors have the name "Nightingale", but none of them can sing a tune.
(1) "nightingale" is a Nattergal] in Danish], and the author seems to have made a literal joke here,
because if the word is disassembled, the first half becomes a natter (night-plural); Then the second half of "warbler" becomes
gal, which means "crazy" in Danish.
one day, the emperor received a big package with the word "nightingale" written on it.
"This is another book about our famous bird!" The emperor said. Nightingale (4)
fairy tale
But this is not a book; But a handicraft in a box-an artificial nightingale. It is exactly like a natural nightingale, but it is full of diamonds, rubies and sapphires. This artificial bird, as long as it is well wound, can sing a song sung by the real nightingale; Its tail moves up and down, emitting gold and silver light. There is a small ribbon hanging around its neck, which reads: "The nightingale of the Japanese emperor is naturally inferior to the nightingale of the Japanese emperor."
"It's really nice!" Everyone said. The man who sent this artificial nightingale immediately got a title: "Royal Chief Nightingale Messenger". Now let them sing together, what a beautiful duet it will be!
In this way, they will have to sing together, but this method won't work, because the real nightingale just sings in her own way, and the artificial bird can only sing the old tune of "waltz".
Now this artificial bird has to sing alone. Its success is comparable to that of the real nightingale; In addition, its appearance is much more beautiful-it shines like a gold bracelet and a collar button.
it sang the same tune thirty-three times, and it didn't feel tired. Everyone is willing to continue listening, but the emperor said that the living nightingale should also sing something-but where did it go? No one noticed that it had flown out of the window and returned to its green forest.
"what does this mean?" The emperor said.
All courtiers cursed the nightingale, saying that it was an ungrateful thing.
"We finally have the best bird." They said.
so the artificial bird has to sing again. They listened to the same tune for the thirty-fourth time. Even so, they still can't remember it, because it is a difficult tune. The musician gave the bird a great compliment. He said with certainty that it was much better than the real nightingale! Not only in terms of its feathers and many diamonds, but also in terms of its interior.
He also said, "Ladies and gentlemen, especially Your Majesty, you should know that you will never guess what a real nightingale will sing; However, in this artificial nightingale's body, everything has already been arranged, and what tune should it sing? What tune does it sing! You can take it apart and see its internal activities: where its "waltz" starts and ends, and what other tunes will be connected. "
"This is exactly what we want," everyone said.
So the musician was allowed to put this bird on public display next Sunday for the public to see. The emperor said that ordinary people should also listen to its songs. They heard it later, and they were very satisfied, just as if they had had tea-because tea is China's habit. They all said, "Hey!" At the same time, raise your index finger and nod.
But the fisherman who heard the real nightingale sing said.
"It sings well, just like a real bird, but it always seems to be missing something-although I don't know what it is!"
The real nightingale was banished from this land and empire.
The artificial nightingale took a place on a silk mat beside the emperor's bed. All the gifts it got-gold and precious stones-were displayed around it. In terms of title, it has been named "Noble Royal Night Singer". In terms of rank, it has been promoted to the position of "the first on the left" because the emperor thinks that the left side of the atrium is the most important side-even an emperor's heart is left. The musician wrote a book about this artificial bird in twenty-five volumes: this is a book with profound knowledge and long length, written in the most difficult Chinese characters. Ministers said that they had all read the book and understood its contents, because they were all afraid of being considered stupid and being beaten in the stomach.