it!'

But where was it to be found? The First Lord ran up and down stairs,
through the halls and corridors; but none of those he met had ever heard
of the Nightingale. And the First Lord ran again to the Emperor, and
told him that it must be an invention on the part of those who had
written the books.

'Your Imperial Majesty cannot really believe all that is written! There
are some inventions called the Black Art!'

'But the book in which I read this,' said the Emperor, 'is sent me by
His Great Majesty the Emperor of Japan; so it cannot be untrue, and I
will hear the Nightingale! She must be here this evening! She has my
gracious permission to appear, and if she does not, the whole Court
shall be trampled under foot after supper!'

'Tsing pe!' said the First Lord; and he ran up and down stairs, through
the halls and corridors, and half the Court ran with him, for they
did not want to be trampled under foot. Everyone was asking after the
wonderful Nightingale which all the world knew of, except those at
Court.

At last they met a poor little girl in the kitchen, who said, 'Oh! I
know the Nightingale well. How she sings! I have permission to carry the
scraps over from the Court meals to my poor sick mother, and when I am
going home at night, tired and weary, and rest for a little in the wood,
then I hear the Nightingale singing! It brings tears to my eyes, and I
feel as if my mother were kissing me!'

'Little kitchenmaid!' said the First Lord, 'I will give you a place in
the kitchen, and you shall have leave to see the Emperor at dinner, if
you can lead us to the Nightingale, for she is invited to come to Court
this evening.'

And so they all went into the wood where the Nightingale was wont to
sing, and half the Court went too.

When they were on the way there they heard a cow mooing.

'Oh!' said the Courtiers, 'now we have found her! What a wonderful power
for such a small beast to have! I am sure we have heard her before!'

'No; that is a cow mooing!' said the little kitchenmaid. 'We are still a
long way off!'

Then the frogs began to croak in the marsh. 'Splendid!' said the Chinese
chaplain. 'Now we hear her; it sounds like a little church-bell!'

'No, no; those are frogs!' said the little kitchenmaid. 'But I think we
shall soon hear her now!'

Then the Nightingale began to sing.

'There she is!' cried the little girl. 'Listen! She is sitting there!'
And she pointed to a little dark-grey bird up in t