You know that the Emperor of China is a Chinaman, and all his subjects and followers are Chinese. His palace, built of porcelain, was the most beautiful of all the palaces in the world. It is told that in one of the trees of the forest lying within the grounds of the Emperor's palace there dwelt a singing nightingale, whose voice was of such sweetness that the poor fishermen would stop to listen to him despite their many labors; and travelers came flocking to the Emperor's city from every land and clime, drawn by their great admiration of it — but their admiration of the nightingale's song, when they heard it, surpassed every other admiration. Poets took to singing of the magic of this melodious nightingale and stringing precious pearls in his praise and eulogy. Numerous books about him appeared in various parts of the world, and it chanced that some of these books fell into the Emperor's hands. When he read in them that "the nightingale is the most beautiful thing in China," he cried out: "What is this? I know nothing of any nightingale."
Then the Emperor summoned the chief of his court and said: "The books have told of a wondrous bird called the nightingale, and have said that he is the most wonderful of all the wonders of my far-stretching land. Why have you not informed me of this before?" The chief of the court answered: "I have never heard this name." Said the Emperor: "You must bring this bird to me this very night, for I long to see him."
The chief of the court went searching for this nightingale without knowing where he dwelt.
He climbed to the high rooms of the palace and came down from them to the lower rooms, and left no hall or gallery unsearched; yet he met no one on his way who had ever heard of this bird.
At last the men of the court came upon a little girl who served in the palace kitchen. When they questioned her she said: "Yes, I know the nightingale very well, for every evening I go to the forest to rest and listen to the nightingale's song."
Said the chief of the court: "Then lead us to him."
So the girl went to where the nightingale sang among the trees, and half the men of the court followed her.
There she said, pointing to the little gray bird perched on the branch of the tree: "Do you hear! That is he. And there is his home."
