Once upon a time, there was a king who loved birds deeply. His entire palace was almost a paradise for birds, filled with magpies, turtle doves, mynas, parrots, orioles, cuckoos, nightingales—every kind imaginable.
Whenever the king made his grand appearance, the birds would swarm around him, singing praises and competing to flatter and win his favor. The king then issued a royal decree: each year, the palace would hold a "Best Bird" competition.
Based on the king's preferences, parrots, mynas, magpies, and orioles had all previously been crowned "Best Bird" and received special royal rewards.
The turtle dove and the cuckoo, however, did not know how to flatter. When the king visited them, the turtle dove would simply say, "Coo, coo, coo, life is bitter, bitter, bitter..." while the cuckoo bluntly expressed its true feelings: "Better to return home..." The king became furious and ceased paying them any attention.
At first, the nightingale was also one of the neglected birds. But after spending a long time in the palace, it became crafty. It realized that to improve its status, it must first win the king's favor. So it began to groom itself meticulously every day, drawing its eyebrows in a strikingly vivid way. When the king arrived, he quickly noticed the nightingale's graceful appearance. Seizing the moment, the bird sang a flattering song, "Music of the Palace," in a soft, coquettish voice, filling the king with delight. The king, especially pleased, personally took the nightingale alone to tour the imperial garden.
The nightingale seized this golden opportunity to criticize the other birds. It said the magpie only spoke sweet words, but was insincere and two-faced; the myna and parrot merely repeated what others said, lacking any original thought; and although the nightingale's singing voice was good, its songs were merely soft, decadent tunes suitable only for lulling people to sleep at night. Therefore, it claimed, the past few "Best Bird" selections had caused much dissatisfaction among the birds.
Believing this completely, the king in subsequent competitions first eliminated the magpie, myna, parrot, and oriole. As for the turtle dove and cuckoo, they were clearly no match for the nightingale. From that point on, the nightingale won the "Best Bird" title every year.
Using cunning and strategy, the nightingale received the highest honor year after year, and gradually became intoxicated with its own success.
Unexpectedly, one day, the bird-loving king fell fatally ill. Though his passion for birds remained unchanged even at the end of his life, as a dying man he felt compassion and wished to release all the birds back into the wild, restoring their freedom. He only wanted to keep one good bird as a burial companion, so he would not be lonely in death. He asked the birds to recommend one.
"It must be the nightingale!" all the birds said in unison. "No one can match it—it's been 'Best Bird' for over ten consecutive years!"
Thus, when the king passed away, all the birds imprisoned in the palace joyfully flew into the open sky. Only the poor nightingale became the king's burial offering.