She will have no heed of me , and my heart will break . '' `` Here indeed is the true lover , '' said the Nightingale . `` What I sing of , he suffers -- what is joy to me , to him is pain . Surely Love is a wonderful thing . It is more precious than emeralds , and dearer than fine opals . Pearls and pomegranates can not buy it , nor is it set forth in the marketplace . It may not be purchased of the merchants , nor can it be weighed out in the balance for gold . '' `` The musicians will sit in their gallery , '' said the young Student , `` and play upon their stringed instruments , and my love will dance to the sound of the harp and the violin . She will dance so lightly that her feet will not touch the floor , and the courtiers in their gay dresses will throng round her . But with me she will not dance , for I have no red rose to give her '' ; and he flung himself down on the grass , and buried his face in his hands , and wept . `` Why is he weeping ? '' asked a little Green Lizard , as he ran past him with his tail in the air . `` Why , indeed ? '' said a Butterfly , who was fluttering about after a sunbeam . `` Why , indeed ? '' whispered a Daisy to his neighbour , in a soft , low voice . `` He is weeping for a red rose , '' said the Nightingale . `` For a red rose ? '' they cried ; `` how very ridiculous ! '' and the little Lizard , who was something of a cynic , laughed outright .
But the Nightingale understood the secret of the XXXXX 's sorrow , and she sat silent in the oak-tree , and thought about the mystery of Love .
Daisy Lizard Student air emeralds marketplace neighbour opals pomegranates sunbeam