The Language of Beasts

The Language of Beasts

Once upon a time a man had a shepherd who served him many years

faithfully and honestly. One day, whilst herding his flock, this

shepherd heard a hissing sound, coming out of the forest near by, which

he could not account for. So he went into the wood in the direction of

the noise to try to discover the cause. When he approached the place he

found that the dry grass and leaves were on fire, and on a tree,

surrounded by flames, a snake was coiled, hissing with terror.

The shepherd stood wondering how the poor snake could escape, for the

wind was blowing the flames that way, and soon that tree would be

burning like the rest. Suddenly the snake cried: “O shepherd! for the

love of heaven save me from this fire!”

Then the shepherd stretched his staff out over the flames and the snake

wound itself round the staff and up to his hand, and from his hand it

crept up his arm, and twined itself about his neck. The shepherd

trembled with fright, expecting every instant to be stung to death, and

said: “What an unlucky man I am! Did I rescue you only to be destroyed

myself?” But the snake answered: “Have no fear; only carry me home to

my father who is the King of the Snakes.” The shepherd, however, was

much too frightened to listen, and said that he could not go away and

leave his flock alone; but the snake said: “You need not be afraid to

leave your flock, no evil shall befall them; but make all the haste you

can.”

So he set off through the wood carrying the snake, and after a time he

came to a great gateway, made entirely of snakes intertwined one with

another. The shepherd stood still with surprise, but the snake round

his neck whistled, and immediately all the arch unwound itself.

“When we are come to my father’s house,” said his own snake to him, “he

will reward you with anything you like to ask—silver, gold, jewels, or

whatever on this earth is most precious; but take none of all these

things, ask rather to understand the language of beasts. He will refuse

it to you a long time, but in the end he will grant it to you.”

Soon after that they arrived at the house of the King of the Snakes,

who burst into tears of joy at the sight of his daughter, as he had

given her up for dead. “Where have you been all this time?” he asked,

directly he could speak, and she told him that she had been caught in a

forest fire, and had been rescued from the flames by the shepherd. The

King of the Snakes, then turning to the shepherd, said to him: “What

reward will you choose for saving my child?”

“Make me to know the language of beasts,” answered the shepherd, “that

is all I desire.”

The king replied: “Such knowledge would be of no benefit to you, for if

I granted it to you and you told any one of it, you would immediately

die; ask me rather for whatever else you would most like to possess,

and it shall be yours.”

But the shepherd answered him: “Sir, if you wish to reward me for

saving your daughter, grant me, I pray you, to know the language of

beasts. I desire nothing else”; and he turned as if to depart.

Then the king called him back, saying: “If nothing else will satisfy

you, open your mouth.” The man obeyed, and the king spat into it, and

said: “Now spit into my mouth.” The shepherd did as he was told, then

the King of the Snakes spat again into the shepherd’s mouth. When they

had spat into each other’s mouths three times, the king said:

“Now you know the language of beasts, go in peace; but, if you value

your life, beware lest you tell any one of it, else you will

immediately die.”

So the shepherd set out for home, and on his way through the wood he

heard and understood all that was said by the birds, and by every

living creature. When he got back to his sheep he found the flock

grazing peacefully, and as he was very tired he laid himself down by

them to rest a little. Hardly had he done so when two ravens flew down

and perched on a tree near by, and began to talk to each other in their

own language: “If that shepherd only knew that there is a vault full of

gold and silver beneath where that lamb is lying, what would he not

do?” When the shepherd heard these words he went straight to his master

and told him, and the master at once took a waggon, and broke open the

door of the vault, and they carried off the treasure. But instead of

keeping it for himself, the master, who was an honourable man, gave it

all up to the shepherd, saying: “Take it, it is yours. The gods have

given it to you.” So the shepherd took the treasure and built himself a

house. He married a wife, and they lived in great peace and happiness,

and he was acknowledged to be the richest man, not only of his native

village, but of all the country-side. He had flocks of sheep, and

cattle, and horses without end, as well as beautiful clothes and

jewels.

One day, just before Christmas, he said to his wife: “Prepare

everything for a great feast, to-morrow we will take things with us to

the farm that the shepherds there may make merry.” The wife obeyed, and

all was prepared as he desired. Next day they both went to the farm,

and in the evening the master said to the shepherds: “Now come, all of

you, eat, drink, and make merry. I will watch the flocks myself

to-night in your stead.” Then he went out to spend the night with the

flocks.

When midnight struck the wolves howled and the dogs barked, and the

wolves spoke in their own tongue, saying:

“Shall we come in and work havoc, and you too shall eat flesh?” And the

dogs answered in their tongue: “Come in, and for once we shall have

enough to eat.”

Now amongst the dogs there was one so old that he had only two teeth

left in his head, and he spoke to the wolves, saying: “So long as I

have my two teeth still in my head, I will let no harm be done to my

master.”

All this the master heard and understood, and as soon as morning dawned

he ordered all the dogs to be killed excepting the old dog. The farm

servants wondered at this order, and exclaimed: “But surely, sir, that

would be a pity?”

The master answered: “Do as I bid you”; and made ready to return home

with his wife, and they mounted their horses, her steed being a mare.

As they went on their way, it happened that the husband rode on ahead,

while the wife was a little way behind. The husband’s horse, seeing

this, neighed, and said to the mare: “Come along, make haste; why are

you so slow?” And the mare answered: “It is very easy for you, you

carry only your master, who is a thin man, but I carry my mistress, who

is so fat that she weights as much as three.” When the husband heard

that he looked back and laughed, which the wife perceiving, she urged

on the mare till she caught up with her husband, and asked him why he

laughed. “For nothing at all,” he answered; “just because it came into

my head.” She would not be satisfied with this answer, and urged him

more and more to tell her why he had laughed. But he controlled himself

and said: “Let me be, wife; what ails you? I do not know myself why I

laughed.” But the more he put her off, the more she tormented him to

tell her the cause of his laughter. At length he said to her: “Know,

then, that if I tell it you I shall immediately and surely die.” But

even this did not quiet her; she only besought him the more to tell

her.

Meanwhile they had reached home, and before getting down from his horse

the man called for a coffin to be brought; and when it was there he

placed it in front of the house, and said to his wife:

“See, I will lay myself down in this coffin, and will then tell you why

I laughed, for as soon as I have told you I shall surely die.” So he

lay down in the coffin, and while he took a last look around him, his

old dog came out from the farm and sat down by him, and whined. When

the master saw this, he called to his wife: “Bring a piece of bread to

give to the dog.” The wife brought some bread and threw it to the dog,

but he would not look at it. Then the farm cock came and pecked at the

bread; but the dog said to it: “Wretched glutton, you can eat like that

when you see that your master is dying?” The cock answered: “Let him

die, if he is so stupid. I have a hundred wives, which I call together

when I find a grain of corn, and as soon as they are there I swallow it

myself; should one of them dare to be angry, I would give her a lesson

with my beak. He has only one wife, and he cannot keep her in order.”

As soon as the man understood this, he got up out of the coffin, seized

a stick, and called his wife into the room, saying: “Come, and I will

tell you what you so much want to know”; and then he began to beat her

with the stick, saying with each blow: “It is that, wife, it is that!”

And in this way he taught her never again to ask why he had laughed.