The Nightingale (fairy tale)

Last updated

"The Nightingale"
Short story by Hans Christian Andersen
Nightingale 02.jpg
Illustration by Vilhelm Pedersen
Original titleNattergalen
CountryDenmark
LanguageDanish
Genre(s)Literary fairy tale
Publication
Published in New Fairy Tales. First Volume. First Collection (Nye Eventyr. Første Bind. Første Samling)
Publication typeFairy tale collection
PublisherC.A. Reitzel
Publication date1843

"The Nightingale" (Danish : Nattergalen) is a literary fairy tale written by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. Set in ancient China, the story recounts the friendship between the Emperor and a nightingale.

Contents

Plot

In the gardens of the emperor of China lived a nightingale whose song was more beautiful than the palace itself and was storied all over the world. When the emperor received a book from the emperor of Japan he was astonished to read about the nightingale, because he had never heard of it, nor had anyone in his court. He commanded that the nightingale be brought before him to sing. With the help of a poor kitchen girl, the nightingale was found and brought to the emperor, where he sang so beautifully that the emperor was moved to tears and made him a guest at court.

Soon after, the emperor received a new gift: a jeweled nightingale automaton that also sang. This nightingale's song was pretty, but always the same. The real nightingale, no longer appreciated, flew out of the palace while no one was looking. The emperor placed the artificial nightingale at his bedside and banished the real nightingale for his desertion. The artificial bird sang the emperor to sleep each night until its cogs wore down. The bird was repaired, but it could be played only once a year.

Five years later the emperor fell ill, and one night Death sat on his chest showing him the deeds of his past. The emperor wished for the artificial nightingale to sing away the unpleasant memories, but it was silent. Then a song erupted through the window, where the real nightingale was perched. The song restored the emperor's health and persuaded Death to leave him in peace. The nightingale declined to become a guest in the palace again, but offered to come when he would and sing about all that he had seen in the kingdom, if the emperor agreed to keep this a secret between them.

Illustrations by Edmund Dulac from a 1911 edition.

Adaptations

Poetry

Sansom, Clive. "Singer and Nightingale." Return to Magic. Leslie Frewin, 1969.

Short stories

Tailor, Dena Bain. "The Nightingale." Little Red Riding Hood in the Big Bad City. DAW, 2004.

West, Michelle.  "The Nightingale" Once Upon a Galaxy edited by William McCarthy and Martin H. Greenberg.

Novels

Dalkey, Kara.  The Nightingale. Ace, 1991.

Loftin, Nikki.  Nightingale's Nest. Razorbill, 2014.

Theatre

Giges, Bob. “The Inspiration for Nightingale” .

MacLellan, Kathy.  The Nightingale (puppet show) Rag & Bone Puppet Theatre.

Music

Reynolds, Malvina.  The Emperor’s Nightingale (song).

Rüttgers, Philipp. “The Emperor And The Nightingale -Twists of H.C. Andersen's Untaped Fairy Tales”.

Stravinsky, Igor.  Opera: Le Rossignol.

Stravinsky, Igor.  Ballet: The Song of the Nightingale.  Stravinsky original score, Henri Matisse sets, Léonide Massine choreography.

Strouse, Charles.  Nightingale: A New Musical.

Prauliņš, Uģis. Concerto for choir and recorders The Nightingale

Animated films

Reiniger, Lotte. The Chinese Nightingale. (1927)

Shelley Duvall's Faerie Tale Theatre: The Nightingale (1983) (TV) 

Sporn, Michael. Nightingale. (1992)

Story Time! Pilot - Extracts from The emperor and the nightingale.

ToonJet Cartoons.  The Emperor’s Nightingale.

Trnka, Jirí and Milos Makovec.The Emperor's Nightingale (1948).

Xpress English. TV episode; radio play

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 Andersen, Hans Christian. The Nightingale. Stories from Hans Christian Andersen. London: Hodder & Stoughton. 1910.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hans Christian Andersen</span> Danish writer (1805–1875)

Hans Christian Andersen was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Common nightingale</span> Species of bird

The common nightingale, rufous nightingale or simply nightingale, is a small passerine bird which is best known for its powerful and beautiful song. It was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher, Muscicapidae. It belongs to a group of more terrestrial species, often called chats.

<i>Hans Christian Andersen</i> (film) 1952 film by Charles Vidor

Hans Christian Andersen is a 1952 Hollywood musical film directed by Charles Vidor and produced by Samuel Goldwyn. The screenplay by Moss Hart and an uncredited Ben Hecht is based on a story by Myles Connolly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Emperor's New Clothes</span> 1837 fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen

"The Emperor's New Clothes" is a literary folktale written by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen, about a vain emperor who gets exposed before his subjects. The tale has been translated into over 100 languages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Ugly Duckling</span> Fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen

"The Ugly Duckling" is a Danish literary fairy tale by Danish poet and author Hans Christian Andersen (1805–1875). It was first published on 11 November 1843 in New Fairy Tales. First Volume. First Collection, with three other tales by Andersen in Copenhagen to great critical acclaim. The tale has been adapted to various media, including opera, musical, and animated film. The tale is an original story by Andersen.

"The Steadfast Tin Soldier" is a literary fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen about a tin soldier's love for a paper ballerina. The tale was first published in Copenhagen by C.A. Reitzel on 2 October 1838 in the first booklet of Fairy Tales Told for Children. New Collection. The booklet consists of Andersen's "The Daisy" and "The Wild Swans". The tale was Andersen's first not based upon a folk tale or a literary model. "The Steadfast Tin Soldier" has been adapted to various media including ballet and animated film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Princess and the Pea</span> Fairy tale by H. C. Andersen

"The Princess and the Pea" is a literary fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen about a princess who is tested to become the wife to a lonely prince. The tale was first published with three others by Andersen in a cheap booklet on 8 May 1835 in Copenhagen by C. A. Reitzel.

The common nightingale is a songbird found in Eurasia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Swineherd</span> Short story by Hans Christian Andersen

"The Swineherd" is a literary fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen about a prince who disguises himself as a swineherd to win an arrogant princess. The tale was first published December 20, 1841 by C. A. Reitzel in Copenhagen, Denmark in Fairy Tales Told for Children. New Collection. Third Booklet. The tale appears to be original with Andersen though similar tales are known. "The Swineherd" has been adapted to other media.

<i>Nightingale</i> (musical) Musical by Charles Strouse

Nightingale: A New Musical is a musical in one act, with book, music and lyrics by Charles Strouse. It is based on Hans Christian Andersen's 1843 fairy tale, "The Nightingale", and tells the story of a Chinese emperor who learns, nearly too late, that wealth cannot buy happiness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Goblin and the Grocer</span> 1852 fairy tale published by Hans Christian Andersen

"The Goblin at the Grocer's" is a fairy tale published in 1852 by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen, about a goblin who must choose between poetry or his Christmas porridge from a grocer.

<i>The Nightingale</i> (opera) Opera by Igor Stravinsky

The Nightingale is a short opera in three acts by Igor Stravinsky to a Russian-language libretto by him and Stepan Mitusov, based on a tale by Hans Christian Andersen: a nasty Chinese Emperor is reduced to tears and made kind by a small grey bird. It was completed on 28 March 1914 and premiered a few weeks later, on 26 May, by the Ballets Russes conducted by Pierre Monteux at the Palais Garnier in Paris. Publication, by the then Paris-based Éditions Russes de Musique, followed only in 1923 and caused the opera to become known by its French title of Le Rossignol and French descriptor of conte lyrique, or lyric tale, despite its being wholly Russian.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hans Christian Andersen bibliography</span>

This is a list of published works by Hans Christian Andersen. The list has been supplemented with a few important posthumous editions of his works; the year given in each entry refers to the first Danish edition. They are all in the public domain because Andersen died over 100 years ago.

Chant du Rossignol, as it was published in 1921, is a poème symphonique by Igor Stravinsky adapted in 1917 from his 1914 opera The Nightingale.

The Fairytaler is a 2002 Danish animated television series based on the fairy tales of Hans Christian Andersen. It was also the second anthology series adapted from Hans Christian Andersen's works right after Andersen Stories ended.

<i>New Fairy Tales. First Volume</i>

New Fairy Tales. First Volume is a collection of nine fairy tales by Hans Christian Andersen. The tales were published in a series of three installments by C. A. Reitzel in Copenhagen, Denmark between November 1843 and April 1845.

<i>Fairy Tales Told for Children. New Collection</i>

Fairy Tales Told for Children. New Collection is a collection of ten fairy tales by Hans Christian Andersen. The tales were published in a series of three installments by C. A. Reitzel in Copenhagen, Denmark between October 1838 and December 1841.

"The Tallow Candle" is a 700-word literary fairytale by Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen (1805–1875).

Rojan Hazim, is a contemporary Kurdish writer, journalist, translator and literary critic. He was born in Hakkari, southeastern Turkey and founded Xanî & Bateyî publishers in 1989. His articles have appeared in many magazines and newspapers including Nûdem, Huner, Özgür Politika, Ek Politika, Yeni Gündem and Hîwa. He served as the Editor of the Roja Gel, Bingeh and Hêza Welatparêz from 1980 to 1991. He is also literary critic at KURMANCÎ journal published by the Kurdish Institute of Paris. He has translated stories and tales by Hans Christian Andersen and Pushkin into Kurdish.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GivingTales</span>

GivingTales is a mobile application offering illustrated versions of Hans Christian Andersen's classic fairy tales. The app has been developed in association with Sir Roger Moore in 2015.

References