Once, an ass saw a nightingale and said, “My friend, I have heard that you have a really beautiful voice. I have been waiting from a long time to hear you sing.” Delighted by the praise, the nightingale began to sing, whistling in myriad ways, with long-drawn, sniveling notes. She sang one song after another. In one song, she lowered her voice as if it was coming from a distance with the echo of the wind. The entire nature came to a halt to listen her singing, the breeze stopped, the other birds were quiet; the animals lay without a sound upon the grass. After a while, the nightingale stopped singing. Then, the ass bent his head towards the ground, and said,
The Ass and the Nightingale
