Dialogue 6 and The Mechanical Bird Dialogue 6
Dialogue 6 and The Mechanical Bird
Dialogue 6 • Little Girl: Excuse me, your majesty. • Emperor: Yes? What is it? • Little Girl: I have another package for you. This one is from the Emperor of Japan. • Emperor: He has sent me another book? I certainly enjoyed the last one. • Little Girl: On the package is written “The Nightingale” • Emperor: Then it must be a new book about our celebrated bird. Shall we open it?
• • • Little Girl: Of course, your majesty. Emperor: How curious! Little Girl: It’s not a book at all. Emperor: I’ve never seen anything like it. What do you suppose it is? Little Girl: It must be a clock. Emperor: But it has no hands Little Girl: Then perhaps it is a crown? Emperor: But it’s far too difficult to balance on my head Little Girl: Then maybe a shoe? Emperor: Only one?
• Narrator 3: The Emperor, like most emperors, was more accustomed to asking questions than knowing answers, so he summoned his courtiers. • Emperor: Courtiers! • Courtiers: yes, your majesty? What is it? You gonged? How may we assist? • Emperor: The imperial package-bringer has delivered a parcel from the Emperor of Japan. This was inside. • Timekeeper: It’s beautiful! • Physician: Look how the rubies and sapphires shine. See how the diamonds sparkle. • Chief of Staff: It’s a work of art, your majesty, modeled after our very own nightingale! • Music Master: Perhaps it sings like our nightingale, too. • Timekeeper: Of course! Wind the tiny key on her back.
The Mechanical Bird • • Chief of Staff: How delightful! Timekeeper: How exquisite! Emperor: It DOES sing Music Master: Let’s hear it again. • • Physician: Perfect! Music Master: AS lovely as can be. Narrator 4: All were completely satisfied with the mechanical bird. Emperor: I have an idea! Now both nightingales must sing together. What a lovely duet it will be!
• • • Physician: Terrible! Chief of Staff: Ridiculous! Emperor: That wasn’t pleasant at all. Music Master: Well, it certainly is not the fault of the mechanical bird. Its notes are clear and in perfect rhythm. Narrator 5: In fact, the new nightingale’s music completely satisfied the music master’s taste. But the real nightingale sang in her own natural way, as free as when she lived in the tall pine. Narrator 6: So the two did not complement each other at all. Timekeeper: Actually, I prefer the sound of the jeweled bird. It’s much more precise. Physician: Perhaps we should place it upon the golden perch. Chief of Staff: Yes, a bird so lavishly adorned will surely look grand sitting beside the Emperor.
• Narrator 1: Fearing that the real nightingale might fall out of favor and knowing that it longed to be in the woods, the little girl hatched a plan. • Emperor: Let us hear the mechanical bird sing again. • All: Quick little nightingale, go little nightingale far from here and him and me • Fly little nightingale, Goodbye little nightingale • Go! For now you can be free! • Narrator 2: Unaware of the nightingale’s escape, the emperor and his courtiers listened to the mechanical bird over and over. • Narrator 3: Never did its pitch waiver, and never did its tempo slow • Narrator 4: Three and thirty times she warbled her consistent tune • Narrator 5: It was as successful as the real bird, only much prettier to look at, for its golden wings sparkled like jeweled bracelets.
• • • Emperor: I’ve heard enough. Chief of Staff: But your majesty, may we hear it once more? Emperor: I think the real nightingale ought to take a turn. Narrator 6: When the emperor and his courtiers turned their attention to the golden perch, they were surprised to discover that the precious bird was not there. Emperor: Where is my nightingale? Timekeeper: She’s gone! Music Master: Flown away! Physician: Ungrateful bird! Chief of Staff: How dare she disobey the emperor. Emperor: She’s banished from the empire! Physician: With respect, your majesty, we still have the best nightingale here. Shall we listen?
• Narrator 1: Having banished the real nightingale, the emperor grew quite fond of the mechanical bird and placed it upon the golden perch beside his throne. • Narrator 2: The courtiers began a campaign declaring the bejeweled nightingale a national treasure. The Chief of Staff told citizens of its great worth, the physician spoke of the healing powers of its music and the time keeper marveled at the intricate design of its cogs and wheels. • Narrator 3: But it was the Music Master who took the most pride in boasting about the mechanical prodigy. He wrote twenty-five detailed books about the artificial bird. Every book was complex and contained difficult words like …
Music Master: Pianissimo Narrator 4: And. Music Master: Diminuendo Narrator 5: All of the citizens pretended to understand… Citizen 9: Brilliant! Citizen 10: So informative Narrator 6: Because they hoped to appear intelligent. Narrator 1: AS a year passed, the emperor, the courtiers, and all the Chinese people learned the bird’s song. They hummed, gurgled, and trilled the famous melody everywhere they went. • Narrator 2: One evening, as the Emperor sat listening to the bird, something went horribly wrong. • •
• • • • Narrator 3: The emperor summoned his courtiers Emperor: Courtiers: What is it this time? Yes, your majesty. You gonged? Emperor: Something has happened to the nightingale. It made the most peculiar noises and then stopped singing. Chief of Staff: Noises? What kind of noises? Emperor: Well, first it went…ping Chief of Staff: Ping? Emperor: And then sort of…”whirr” Chief of Staff: How strange. Emperor: I think there was a “clunk” Chief of Staff: Clunk? Hmmm. Anything else? Emperor: It ended with a “whiz-bang-snap” Chief of Staff: That can’t be good. Emperor: Physician, is there anything you can do? Physician: I’m afraid not. I don’t have any medicine for this. Emperor: Timekeeper, perhaps you can help?
• Narrator 3: And indeed, the timekeeper could help. Quickly, he began examining the bird. It’s difficult to say for certain what he really did, but after a great deal of poking and tinkering around inside the bird, the timekeeper declared that the bird was working again…kind of. • Timekeeper: Yes, the bird has been repaired, but it must be used very carefully. • Emperor: May I hear it sing? • Timekeeper: Perhaps, your majesty. But, it could be dangerous. You see, the cogs inside are very worn and cannot be replaced. So, the bird should sing as little as possible. • Emperor: Then…it shall only sing once a year? • Music Master: Well, I for one, assume that the bird is as good as ever. And I look forward to hearing it sing again. • Timekeeper: Next year. • Music Master: Yes, next year. • Narrator 4: Five years passed and the bird did sing again, five more times, but it never sounded quite the same. It had grown tired and its voice had become strained.
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