to outcarol the lark and the nightingale

“There is a legend about a bird which sings just once in its life, more sweetly than any other creature on the face of the earth.

From the moment it leaves the nest it searches for a thorn tree, and does not rest until it has found one. Then, singing among the savage branches, it impales itself upon the longest, sharpest spine. And, dying, it rises above its own agony to outcarol the lark and the nightingale.

One superlative song, existence the price. But the whole world stills to listen, and God in His heaven smiles. For the best is only bought at the cost of great pain… Or so says the legend.”

carol- To sing loudly and joyously.

Ignoring irrelevant considerations, to "carol" means to sing melodiously. To out-carol the lark and the nightingale means to sing more melodiously than those birds, in other words to sing very beautifully. The prefix "out" before a verb, used in a comparison, modifies the verb's meaning, thus to outrun a speeding train would be to run faster than the train.

Nicely done.

Seeing both the morning songbird with the nightly I thought of Juliet's beseechment to Romeo in the morning.

I sincerely hope this wasn't aimed at my post...was it?

Haha,both of you helped me a great deal.
Thanks a million!