Long, long ago there was an Emperor of China whose palace was quite the most wonderful in all the world. But when visitors came from afar, it wasn't the palace that impressed them. Instead, they spoke of the song of the nightingale that lived in the woods by the sea. When he heard this, the Emperor had the bird brought to him and he kept it in a golden cage and treasured it more than all he possessed.

Then one day a parcel came to the palace - a gift from the Emperor of Japan. It was a mechanical nightingale made of gold and silver and precious jewels. It was much prettier than the real bird, and it could sing the same tune time and again without growing tired - just as long as there was someone to wind it.