The Snake's Gift. Language of Animals

Once upon a time there lived a shepherd who served his master

faithfully and honestly. One day, whilst keeping the sheep in the

forest, he heard a hissing, and wondered what the noise could be. So

he went farther into the wood to try and find out. There he saw that

the forest was on fire, and a snake was hissing in the midst of the

flames. The shepherd watched to see what the snake would do, for it

was quite surrounded by the fire, which approached it nearer and

nearer. Then the snake cried out, 'For God's sake, good shepherd, save

me from the fire!' So the shepherd stretched his crook across the

flames and the snake glided rapidly over the staff and up his arm on

to his shoulder, till at last it wound itself round his neck. Then the

shepherd was terrified and exclaimed, 'What shall I do? What an

unlucky wretch I am! I saved you, and now you are about to kill me!'

The snake answered, 'Do not be afraid; only take me to the house of

my father. My father is the king of snakes.' But the shepherd, being

already in great fear, began to excuse himself, saying he must not

leave his sheep. Then the snake said, 'Nothing will happen to your

sheep. Do not be anxious about them. But let us hurry home.'

So the shepherd went on with the snake through the forest, until they

came to a gate made entirely of snakes. Then the snake on the neck of

the shepherd hissed, and instantly the snakes untwined themselves, so

that the man could pass through. As soon as they had gone through, the

snake said to him, 'When you reach my father's house he will offer to

give you whatever you like--gold, silver, or precious stones. Do not,

however, take any of these things. Choose, instead, the language of

animals. He will hesitate at first, but at last he will give it you.'

Meanwhile they arrived at the palace, and the king of snakes said,

weeping, 'For God's sake, my child, where were you?' Thereupon the

snake told him all that had happened, how he had been surrounded by

fire, and how the shepherd had saved him. Then the snake king said to

the shepherd, 'What do you wish that I should give you for saving my

son?'

The shepherd answered, 'I desire nothing but the language of animals.'

The snake king, however, said, 'That is not good for you, for if I

give it you, and you tell any one about it, you will instantly die.

Therefore it is better that you ask me for something else.' 'If you

wish to give me anything,' replied the shepherd, 'give me the

language of animals; if you will not give me that, I want nothing--so

good-bye,' and he turned to go away. Then the snake king called him

back, saying, 'If you indeed wish it so much, take it. Open your

mouth.' The shepherd did so, and the snake king blew into his mouth

and said, 'Now blow once yourself in my mouth.' The shepherd did so,

and then the snake king blew again into his mouth, and this they did

three times. After that the snake said, 'Now, you possess the language

of animals; go, in God's name, but do not for the world tell any one

about it. If you tell any one you will instantly die.'

The shepherd returned across the forest, and, passing through it, he

understood everything the birds and animals, and even the plants, were

saying to each other. When he came to his sheep he found them all

there, safe and sound, so he laid himself down to rest a little.

Hardly had he done so before two or three ravens settled on a tree

near him, and began to converse together, saying, 'If that shepherd

only knew that just on the spot where the black sheep is lying there

is, deep in the earth, a cave full of gold and silver!' When the

shepherd heard that he went off to his master and told him. The master

brought a cart, and dug down to the cave, and carried the treasure

away home. But the master was honest, so he gave up the whole of the

treasure to the shepherd, saying, 'Here my son, all this wealth

belongs to you. For to you God gave it. Build a house, marry, and live

upon the treasure.' So the shepherd took the money, built a house, and

married, and by-and-by he became the richest man in the whole

neighbourhood. He kept his own shepherd, and cattle-driver, and

swineherd; in short, he had great property and made much money.

Once, just at Christmas, he said to his wife, 'Get ready some wine and

other food, and to-morrow we will feast the shepherds.' The wife did

so, and in the morning they went to their farm. Towards evening the

master said to the shepherds, 'Come here, all of you; you shall eat,

drink, and make merry together, and I will go myself this night to

watch the sheep.'

So the master went to watch his sheep, and, about midnight, the wolves

began to howl and the dogs to bark. The wolves spoke, in wolf

language, 'May we come and take something? You, also, shall get a part

of the prey.' And the dogs answered, in dog language, 'Come! we also

are ready to eat something.' But there was one old dog there who had

only two teeth left. This old dog shouted furiously, 'Come on, you

miserable wretches, if you dare. So long as I have these two teeth

left you shall not do any damage to my master's property.' All this

the master heard and understood. Next day he ordered all the dogs to

be killed except that old one. The servants began to remonstrate,

saying, 'For God's sake, master, it is a pity to do this.' But the

master answered, 'Do as I have ordered you,' and started with his wife

to go home. They rode on horseback, he on a fine horse and his wife on

a handsome mare. But the master's horse went so fast that the wife

remained a little behind. Then the master's horse neighed, and said

to the mare, 'Come on, why do you stay behind?' And the mare answered,

'Ah, to you it is easy--you are carrying only one weight, and I am

carrying three.' Thereupon the man turned his head and laughed. The

wife saw him laughing, and urged the mare on quicker till she came up

to her husband, and asked him, 'Why were you laughing?' He said

merely, 'I had good reason to laugh!' But the wife was not satisfied,

and again begged he would tell her why he laughed. He excused himself,

exclaiming, 'Give up questioning me; what has come to you, my wife? I

forget now why it was I laughed.' But the more he refused to tell her,

the more she wished to know. At last the man said, 'If I tell you I

shall die immediately!' That, however, did not quiet her, and she kept

on asking, saying to him, 'You must tell me.' In the meantime they

reached their house. When they had done so the man ordered a coffin to

be made, and, when it was ready, had it placed in front of the house,

and laid himself down in it. Then he said to his wife, 'Now I will

tell you why I laughed, but the moment I tell you I shall die.' So he

looked around once more, and saw that the old dog had come from the

field, and had taken his stand over his head, and was howling. When

the man noticed this he said to his wife, 'Bring a piece of bread for

this poor dog.' The wife brought a piece and threw it to the dog, but

the dog did not even look at it, and a cock came near and began to

peck at it.

Then the dog said to the cock, 'You think only about eating. Do you

know that our master is going to die?' And the cock answered, 'Well,

let him die, since he is such a fool. I have a hundred wives, and

often at nights I gather them all round a grain of corn, and, when

they are all there, I pick it up myself. If any of them are angry, I

peck them; that is my way of keeping them quiet. Only look at the

master, however; he is not able to rule one single wife!'

The man, hearing that, got out of the coffin, took a stick, and called

his wife to him, saying, 'Come now, and I will tell you what you want

to know.' The wife, seeing she was in danger of getting a beating,

left him in peace, and never asked him again why it was he laughed.