The Nightingale · chapter 4 of 4
The Song at Midnight
半夜的歌
At midnight a small brown bird sings to Death himself. Can a song win back a crown, a sword, and an emperor's life?
Read what you hear
- The Nightingale 皇上，别怕。我为你唱一首歌。
Huángshang, bié pà. Wǒ wèi nǐ chàng yì shǒu gē.
Don't be afraid, Your Majesty. I will sing you a song.
- Death 唱吧。我很久没有听过歌了。
Chàng ba. Wǒ hěn jiǔ méiyǒu tīng guo gē le.
Sing. I haven't heard a song in a long time.
- The Emperor 多好听……我不那么怕了。
Duō hǎotīng… wǒ bù nàme pà le.
How lovely... I'm not so afraid now.
Chapter 4 is part of SayMei Stories ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapter 1 of The Nightingale is free, and so are The Second Cup of Tea, Mulan, The Butterfly Lovers, Journey to the West: The Monkey King, Cinderella, The Night of the Nian, Chang'e and the Moon, The Great Race: The Twelve Animals, Aesop's Fables, Little Red Riding Hood, The Three Little Pigs, The Ugly Duckling, Pangu and Nüwa: How the World Began, Beauty and the Beast, The Magic Lotus Lantern, Alice in Wonderland, Zhong Kui the Demon Queller, The Odyssey, Robin Hood, Jiang Ziya Goes Fishing, The Steadfast Tin Soldier, The Hound of the Baskervilles and The Kitchen God from start to finish.
- Death 再唱！小鸟，再唱一首！
Zài chàng! Xiǎo niǎo, zài chàng yì shǒu!
Sing more! Little bird, sing another!
- The Nightingale 死神，一首歌，可以换一顶皇冠吗？
Sǐshén, yì shǒu gē, kěyǐ huàn yì dǐng huángguān ma?
Death, may I trade one song for a crown?
- Death 好……皇冠还给他。
Hǎo… huángguān huán gěi tā.
All right... I will give the crown back.
- The Nightingale 我再唱一首。这一首，是一个安静的花园。
Wǒ zài chàng yì shǒu. Zhè yì shǒu, shì yí gè ānjìng de huāyuán.
I will sing another. This one is about a quiet garden.
- Death 花园……那里有白玫瑰，有绿草。我想回去。
Huāyuán… nàlǐ yǒu bái méigui, yǒu lǜ cǎo. Wǒ xiǎng huí qù.
A garden... with white roses and green grass. I want to go back.
- The Nightingale 再唱一首，换一把剑，好吗？
Zài chàng yì shǒu, huàn yì bǎ jiàn, hǎo ma?
One more song for the sword, all right?
- Death 好。剑也还给他。再唱，再唱！
Hǎo. Jiàn yě huán gěi tā. Zài chàng, zài chàng!
Yes. The sword goes back to him too. Sing again, sing again!
- The Nightingale 死神，这是我最后一首歌。唱完了，你回你的花园，好吗？
Sǐshén, zhè shì wǒ zuìhòu yì shǒu gē. Chàng wán le, nǐ huí nǐ de huāyuán, hǎo ma?
Death, this is my last song. When it ends, will you go back to your garden?
- Death 好……我走了。谢谢你，小夜莺。
Hǎo… wǒ zǒu le. Xièxie nǐ, xiǎo yèyīng.
Yes... I will go. Thank you, little nightingale.
- Narrator 死神变成一片白雾，从窗户飞走了。
Sǐshén biàn chéng yí piàn bái wù, cóng chuānghu fēi zǒu le.
Death turned into a patch of white mist and drifted out the window.
- The Emperor 我不冷了……我的胸口也不重了！
Wǒ bù lěng le… wǒ de xiōngkǒu yě bú zhòng le!
I'm not cold anymore... and my chest is no longer heavy!
- The Emperor 小夜莺，我赶走了你，你还回来救我。我要给你所有的金子！
Xiǎo yèyīng, wǒ gǎn zǒu le nǐ, nǐ hái huílái jiù wǒ. Wǒ yào gěi nǐ suǒyǒu de jīnzi!
Little nightingale, I sent you away and you still came back to save me. I will give you all my gold!
- The Nightingale 皇上，我不要金子。你的眼泪，我第一次就收到了。
Huángshang, wǒ bú yào jīnzi. Nǐ de yǎnlèi, wǒ dì-yī cì jiù shōudào le.
Your Majesty, I don't want gold. I received your tears the very first time.
- The Nightingale 请你让我自由。我每天晚上都会来，在树上唱歌。
Qǐng nǐ ràng wǒ zìyóu. Wǒ měitiān wǎnshang dōu huì lái, zài shù shàng chànggē.
Please let me be free. I will come every night and sing in the tree.
- The Nightingale 我唱快乐的人，也唱生病的人和穷人。你想知道的事，我都告诉你。
Wǒ chàng kuàilè de rén, yě chàng shēngbìng de rén hé qióngrén. Nǐ xiǎng zhīdào de shì, wǒ dōu gàosu nǐ.
I sing about happy people, and also about the sick and the poor. Whatever you want to know, I will tell you.
- The Emperor 好，我答应你。你自由了，小夜莺！
Hǎo, wǒ dāying nǐ. Nǐ zìyóu le, xiǎo yèyīng!
Good, I promise. You are free, little nightingale!
- The Nightingale 还有一件事：请不要告诉别人，是一只小鸟告诉你这些的。
Hái yǒu yí jiàn shì: qǐng bú yào gàosu biérén, shì yì zhī xiǎo niǎo gàosu nǐ zhèxiē de.
One more thing: please don't tell anyone that a little bird told you all this.
- Narrator 天亮了。大臣们走进来，他们以为皇上已经不在了。
Tiān liàng le. Dàchénmen zǒu jìn lái, tāmen yǐwéi Huángshang yǐjīng bú zài le.
Day broke. The officials came in, thinking the emperor was gone.
- The Emperor 早上好，大臣！
Zǎoshang hǎo, dàchén!
Good morning, Chamberlain!
- The Chamberlain 皇上！您……您站起来了！
Huángshang! Nín… nín zhàn qǐlái le!
Your Majesty! You... you're standing!
- The Emperor 对，我好了！你看，夜莺又来了！
Duì, wǒ hǎo le! Nǐ kàn, yèyīng yòu lái le!
Yes, I'm well! Look, the nightingale is back!
- The Emperor 大臣，把那只坏了的金鸟拿走吧。
Dàchén, bǎ nà zhī huài le de jīn niǎo ná zǒu ba.
Chamberlain, take that broken golden bird away.
- The Nightingale 皇上，别生气。它也做了它能做的事。留着它吧。
Huángshang, bié shēngqì. Tā yě zuò le tā néng zuò de shì. Liú zhe tā ba.
Don't be angry, Your Majesty. It did what it could. Keep it.
- The Emperor 好，我听夜莺的。夜莺，谢谢你。
Hǎo, wǒ tīng yèyīng de. Yèyīng, xièxie nǐ.
All right, I'll listen to the nightingale. Thank you, nightingale.
- The Chamberlain 皇上，小兰说得对。夜莺是最好的歌手。
Huángshang, Xiǎo Lán shuō de duì. Yèyīng shì zuì hǎo de gēshǒu.
Your Majesty, Xiao Lan was right. The nightingale is the best singer.
- The Nightingale 天黑以后，我又会回来。晚上见！
Tiān hēi yǐhòu, wǒ yòu huì huílái. Wǎnshang jiàn!
After dark, I will come back. See you tonight!
- The Emperor 今天晚上，我们都来听，还要请小兰来！
Jīntiān wǎnshang, wǒmen dōu lái tīng, hái yào qǐng Xiǎo Lán lái!
Tonight, we will all come to listen, and we'll invite Xiao Lan too!
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- What does Death give back for the nightingale's songs?
“皇冠还给他”……“剑也还给他”
- What does Death long for during the song about the garden?
“花园……那里有白玫瑰，有绿草。我想回去。”
- What does the nightingale ask instead of gold?
“请你让我自由。”
- Why does the nightingale say to keep the golden bird?
“它也做了它能做的事。留着它吧。”
- How do the officials find the emperor in the morning?
“皇上！您……您站起来了！”