# the Nightingale — Children’s Stories character guide

> the Nightingale in Children’s Stories by Oscar Wilde.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Nightingale, little Nightingale, The Nightingale

**First appearance:** 0001-the-nightingale-and-the-rose

## Snapshot

A small brown bird who believes love is worth any price, and who sings all night with a thorn against her heart so that a student may have his red rose.

## Who they are

The Nightingale overhears a young student weeping because he cannot find a red rose to give his beloved, and she resolves to help him, though he barely notices her. She understands love as something the student only talks about, while she is willing to give her lifeblood for it. Her night-long sacrifice, singing of love perfected by death, is the story's beating heart and its quiet rebuke to those who mistake feeling for performance.

## In the story

### [The Nightingale and the Rose](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/children_s_stories_se/chapters/the-nightingale-and-the-rose)

Sacrifices her life to create a red rose for the Student, believing in true love.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/children_s_stories_se/characters/nightingale
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/children_s_stories_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/children_s_stories_se/characters