昔々、中国の広大な帝国の宮殿に、美しい声で鳴く一羽のナイチンゲールが住んでいた。その声はあまりに魅惑的であったため、皇帝はその鳥を金のかごに入れ、宮殿の宝として寵愛した。皇帝は毎日そのさえずりに耳を傾け、その美しさに深く心を打たれ、この鳥なくしては生きられないとすら思うほどであった。
Long ago, in the palace of a vast empire in China, lived a single nightingale that sang with a beautiful voice. Because its voice was so enchanting, the Emperor put the bird in a golden cage and favored it as a palace treasure. The Emperor listened to its chirping every day and was so deeply moved by its beauty that he even thought he could not live without this bird.
ある日、遠くの国から見事な機械仕掛けの小鳥が献上された。それは本物そっくりの声で歌うばかりでなく、全身に宝石が散りばめられており、見た目にもこの上なく豪奢なものであった。皇帝や家臣たちはこの機械の鳥の華やかさに夢中になり、本物のナイチンゲールの存在などすっかり忘れてしまった。本物のナイチンゲールは、誰にも引き止められることなく、静かに森へと帰っていった。
One day, a magnificent mechanical small bird was presented from a far-off country. Not only did it sing with a voice that sounded just like the real thing, but its entire body was encrusted with jewels, and it was superlatively luxurious in appearance. The Emperor and his vassals became obsessed with the splendor of this mechanical bird and completely forgot about the existence of the real nightingale. The real nightingale returned quietly to the forest without being held back by anyone.
それからというもの、皇帝は来る日も来る日も機械の鳥ばかりを鳴かせていた。しかしある時、機械の鳥は突然「ギギッ」という異音を立てて動かなくなってしまった。内部のぜんまいが壊れてしまったのである。名工を集めても修理することは叶わず、宮殿は深い沈黙に包まれた。そしてその頃を境に、皇帝は重い病に伏せるようになってしまった。
From then on, day after day, the Emperor had only the mechanical bird sing. However, at one point, the mechanical bird suddenly made a strange noise, "creak," and stopped moving. The internal clockwork had broken. Even gathering master craftsmen, it was not possible to repair it, and the palace was enveloped in a deep silence. And from around that time, the Emperor became confined to his bed with a serious illness.
皇帝の死の床に、死神が静かに近づいてきた。かつて犯した罪や過ちが皇帝の枕元を取り囲み、重苦しい空気が部屋を支配した。皇帝が「音楽を、音楽を鳴らしてくれ」と叫んでも、壊れた機械の鳥は沈黙したままである。絶望の淵に立たされた皇帝の耳に聞こえてきたのは、あの懐かしい、森へ帰ったはずのナイチンゲールの美しい歌声であった。
On the Emperor's deathbed, Death quietly approached. The sins and errors he had committed in the past surrounded the Emperor's bedside, and a heavy atmosphere dominated the room. Even when the Emperor shouted, "Music, play music," the broken mechanical bird remained silent. What reached the ears of the Emperor, who was standing on the brink of despair, was the beautiful singing voice of that nostalgic nightingale that was supposed to have returned to the forest.
ナイチンゲールの歌声は、窓のすぐ外の枝から響いていた。その清らかな声を聞いているうちに、死神は次第に退き、皇帝は深い眠りにつくことができたのである。翌朝、すっかり元気を取り戻した皇帝に対し、ナイチンゲールは「機械に心はないが、私の歌には命がある」と告げた。皇帝は自らの愚かさを深く恥じ入り、自然の美しさこそが真の宝であると悟ったのである。
The nightingale's singing voice echoed from a branch just outside the window. While listening to that pure voice, Death gradually withdrew, and the Emperor was able to fall into a deep sleep. The next morning, to the Emperor who had completely regained his energy, the nightingale said, "A machine has no heart, but my song has life." The Emperor felt deeply ashamed of his own foolishness and realized that the beauty of nature is indeed the true treasure.