Born on April 2, 1805, Hans Christian Andersen was a prolific writer of plays travelogues, novels, poems and unquestionably most famous of all for his fairy tales.  Though he passed away on August 4, 1875, his tales and popularity have transcended age, nationality and time itself.

One of his most famous tales is that of The Nightingale.  It revolves around an emperor who prefers the tinkling of a mechanical bird to the song of the real nightingale.  When the emperor nearly passes away, the bird’s song restore his health.  The tale was released in 1843 as part of Andersen’s New Fairy Tales.  There is a whispered rumor that the tale is actually about Andersen’s unrequited love for opera singer, Jenny Lind, the “Swedish Nightingale”.

The Nightingale may be read in its entirety here:

http://www.bartleby.com/17/3/10.html

Alternatively, this tale may be seen in an animation short told here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSH452qvwR0