The Nightingale (fairy tale)

"The Nightingale"
Illustration by Vilhelm Pedersen
Author	Hans Christian Andersen
Original title	"Nattergalen"
Country	Denmark
Genre(s)	Literary fairy tale
Publisher	C.A. Reitzel
Publication date	1843

"The Nightingale" (Danish: "Nattergalen") is a literary fairy tale written by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen about an emperor who prefers the tinkling of a bejeweled mechanical bird to the song of a real nightingale. When the Emperor is near death, the nightingale's song restores his health. Well received upon its publication in Copenhagen in 1843 in New Fairy Tales, the tale is believed to have been inspired by the author's unrequited love for opera singer Jenny Lind, the "Swedish nightingale". The story has been adapted to opera, ballet, musical play, television drama and animated film.

The Emperor of China learns that one of the most beautiful things in his empire is the song of the nightingale. When he orders the nightingale brought to him, a kitchen maid (the only one at court who knows of its whereabouts) leads the court to a nearby forest, where the nightingale agrees to appear at court, where it remains as the Emperor's favorite. When the Emperor is given a bejeweled mechanical bird he loses interest in the real nightingale, who returns to the forest. The mechanical bird eventually breaks down; and the Emperor is taken deathly ill a few years later. The real nightingale learns of the Emperor's condition and returns to the palace; whereupon Death is so moved by the nightingale's song that he allows the Emperor to live.

According to Andersen's date book for 1843, "The Nightingale" was composed on 11 and 12 October 1843, and "began in Tivoli", an amusement park and pleasure garden with Chinese motifs in Copenhagen that opened in the summer of 1843.

The tale was first published by C.A. Reitzel in Copenhagen on 11 November 1843 in the first volume of the first collection of New Fairy Tales. The volume included "The Angel", "The Sweethearts; or, The Top and the Ball", and "The Ugly Duckling". The tale was critically well received, and furthered Andersen's success and popularity. It was reprinted on 18 December 1849 in Fairy Tales and again, on 15 December 1862 in the first volume of Fairy Tales and Stories.