No, please, your Majesty, do not tie your golden slipper around my neck to commend me for my performance. The tears that I see in your eyes when I am singing are the only reward I would ever wish to receive!

Do you not understand the weight of your praise around my tiny neck? It cannot be borne! I do not wish to be famous!

I don’t want your burden of expectation. Will I ever be free again?

The Nightingale in The Nightingale, Hans Christian Andersen. Illustration by W. Heath Robinson.