Now as has already been written there were in the Garden many beautiful birds and their voices mingled together so that no one might ever perceive from which bird each song came, yet the whole melody was of indescribable sweetness.
Among all these birds there was only one which had no beauty. It was small and brown and looked like a pebble in a casket of jewels. So it seemed to the Disciple like a wedding guest who had put on no wedding garment for the sake of the Beloved. Therefore he was very angry for the Beloved’s sake and drove the bird from the Garden.
But no sooner had it flown out than, although all the other birds still sang melodiously, the song of the Garden seemed to have lost its sweetness and the lovely roses in the Garden dropped their heads and began to die.
At once the Lover came out and asked the Disciple what had become of the brown bird.
The Disciple was amazed and told the Lover all that had happened.
Whereon the Lover went swiftly out of the Garden and called the brown bird which came flying and perched on his shoulder. So he brought it into the Garden again and it sang joyously because it had returned to the Garden. Thereupon the whole Garden was filled with melody and the roses lifted their heads again.
Then the Disciple asked the Lover, “Sir, please tell me what bird this is and how did you perceive at once that it was absent from the Garden?”
The Lover replied, “It is called the nightingale and by as much as its plumage is less beautiful than that of the other birds, by that much its voice is sweeter and louder than all of theirs, so that it fills all the Garden with melody, and so beautiful is its song that when the roses no longer hear it they drop their heads.”
So the Disciple perceived that each thing has its own gifts to bring to the service of the Beloved.
