Thoughts of a Nightingale

And so the King said to his servant Bring to me a Nightingale To sing the night away Bring to me a bird With a voice both soft and true And so the servant brought a Nightingale to the king The king then said to the Nightingale Nightingale please sing Sing of a place far, far away Far away from this prison Nightingale please sing to me Sing of your own great travels From North to South and North again But the Nightingale did not sing The Nightingale perched before the king But did not sing a word Instead the Nightingale spoke to the king In a voice soft yet firm I will not sing to you I will not sing a word For you have stolen me From both family and home You have stolen me Merely for your own entertainment This selfish act will not be forgotten As the Nightingale spoke this last word The king was blinded by a brilliant flash of light He looked once more to the Nightingale But what stood before him was no longer a Nightingale Instead a Phoenix stood in its place You have stolen and must be punished You and all of mankind shall be punished You will no longer be welcome in the woods You will no longer hear the voices of the trees You will no longer understand the animal speech This is your punishment The king was once more blinded by light And when he looked again There was nothing where the Phoenix once stood Nothing but a single feather To forever remind him of what he had done