It has been many years now, but that is precisely why it is worth hearing the story, for otherwise, it is forgotten. Thus begins the fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen. He tells of the small, inconspicuous bird with the wonderful voice. Anyone who hears the nightingale's nocturnal song is moved to tears and touched deep within. The Chinese emperor desperately wants to have this bird in his treasure chamber - but the nightingale cannot live in a cage and flies away. When the emperor falls gravely ill, she returns and defeats death with her song.