tingale," said the Emperor; "if the
Nightingale is not here to sing for me this evening I will have the
court trampled upon, immediately after supper."

The Chamberlain did not want to be trampled upon, so he ran out and
asked everybody in the palace about the Nightingale. At last, a little
girl who worked in the kitchen to help the cook, said, "Oh, yes, I know
the Nightingale very well. Every night, when I go to carry scraps from
the kitchen to my mother, who lives in the wood beyond the forest, I
hear the Nightingale sing."

The Chamberlain asked the maid to take him to the Nightingale's home,
and many of the lords and ladies followed after. When they had gone a
little way, they heard a cow moo.

"Ah!" said the lords and ladies, "that must be the Nightingale; what a
large voice for so small a creature!"

"Oh, no," said the little girl, "that is just a cow, mooing."

A little farther on they heard some bullfrogs, in a swamp. "Surely that
is the Nightingale," said the courtiers; "it really sounds like
church-bells!"

"Oh, no," said the little girl, "those are bullfrogs, croaking."

At last they came to the wood where the Nightingale was. "Hush!" said
the little girl, "she is going to sing." And, sure enough, the little
Nightingale began to sing. She sang so beautifully that you have never
in all your life heard anything like it.

"Dear, dear," said the courtiers, "that is very pleasant; does that
little grey bird really make all that noise? She is so pale that I think
she has lost her colour for fear of us."

The Chamberlain asked the little Nightingale to come and sing for the
Emperor. The little Nightingale said she could sing better in her own
greenwood, but she was so sweet and kind that she came with them.

That evening the palace was all trimmed with the most beautiful flowers
you can imagine, and rows and rows of little silver bells, that tinkled
when the wind blew in, and hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of wax
candles, that shone like tiny stars. In the great hall there was a gold
perch for the Nightingale, beside the Emperor's throne.

When all the people were there, the Emperor asked the Nightingale to
sing. Then the little grey Nightingale filled her throat full, and sang.
And, my dears, she sang so beautifully that the Emperor's eyes filled up
with tears! And, you know, emperors do not cry at all easily. So he
asked her to sing again, and this time she sang so marvellously that
the tears came