XXXIX.—THE LANGUAGE OF ANIMALS.
A certain man had a shepherd, who served him faithfully
and honestly for many years. This shepherd, when he was
once upon a time following the sheep, heard a whistling on
the hill, and, not knowing what it was, went off to see.
When he got to the place, there was a conflagration, and in
the middle of it a serpent was squeaking. When he saw this,
he waited to see how the serpent would act, for all around it
was burning, and the fire had almost come close to it.
When the serpent saw him, it screamed: `Dear shepherd,
do a good action: take me out of this fire.' The shepherd
took pity on its words, and reached it his crook, and it
crawled out upon it. When it had crawled out, it coiled
itself round his neck. When the shepherd saw this, he was
frightened, and said: `Indeed you are a wretch! Is that
the way you are going to thank me for rescuing you? So
runs the proverb: "Do good, and find evil." ' The serpent
answered him: `Don't fear: I shall do you no harm; only
carry me to my father; my father is the emperor of the
serpents.' The shepherd begged pardon, and excused himself:
`I can't carry you to your father, because I have no
one to leave in charge of my sheep.' The serpent said to
him: `Don't fear for your sheep; nothing will happen to
them; only carry me to my father, and go quickly.' Then
there was no help for it, so he started with it over the hill.
When he came to a door, which was formed of nothing but
serpents intertwined, and went up to it, the serpent which
was coiled round his neck gave a whistle, and the serpents,
which had twined themselves into the form of a door,
immediately untwined, and made way for them to enter.
As the shepherd and the serpent entered the palace, the
serpent called to the shepherd: `Stop! let me tell you
something: when you come into my father's palace, he will
promise you what you desire, silver and gold; but don't you
accept anything, only ask him to give you such a tongue
that you will be able to understand all animals. He will
not give you this readily, but at last grant it you he will.'
The shepherd went with it into its father's palace, and its
father, on seeing it, shed tears, and asked it: `Hey, my son,
where have you been till now?' It replied, and told him
everything in order: what had taken place, and how it had
taken place, and how the shepherd had rescued it. Then
the emperor of the serpents turned to the shepherd, and
said to him: `Come, my son, what do you wish me to give
you in recompense for rescuing my child?' The shepherd
replied to him: `Nothing else, only give me such a tongue
that I can understand all animals.' The emperor of the
serpents said to him: `That is not a proper gift for you, my
son, because, if I give you anything of the kind, you will
betray yourself in somebody's presence by boasting of it, and
then you will die immediately; ask something else.' The
shepherd replied to him: `I wish for nothing else. If you
will give it me, give it; if not, farewell!' He turned to go;
but the emperor of the serpents cried out: `Stay! Return!
If you ask this, come, that I may give it you. Open your
mouth.' The shepherd opened his mouth, and the emperor
of the serpents spat into it, and told him to spit also into his
mouth. And thus they spat thrice into each other's mouths.
When this was done, the emperor of the serpents said to the
shepherd: `Now you have the tongue which you desired;
go, and farewell! But it is not permitted you to tell anybody,
because, if you do, you will die. I am telling you the
truth.' The shepherd then departed. As he went over the
hill, he understood the conversation of the birds, and, so to
speak, of everything in the world. When he came to his
sheep, he found them correct in number, and sat down to
rest. But scarcely had he lain down, when two crows flew
up, perched on a tree hard by him, and began to converse
in their language: `If that shepherd knew that just where
that black lamb lies a vault full of silver and gold is buried
in the ground, he would take its contents.' When he heard
this, he went and told his master, and he brought a cart,
and they broke open the door of the vault, and took out its
valuable contents. His master was a righteous man, and said
to him: `Well, my son, this is all yours; the Lord has given
it you. Go, provide a house, get married, and live comfortably.'
The shepherd took the property, went away, provided a house,
got married, and lived very comfortably. This shepherd,
after a little time, became so rich and prosperous that there
was nobody richer than he in his own or the neighbouring
villages. He had shepherds, cowherds, swineherds, grooms,
and everything on a handsome scale. Once upon a time
this shepherd ordered his wife on New Year's Eve to provide
wine, brandy, and everything requisite, and to go the next
morning to his cattle, to take the provisions to the herdsmen,
that they, too, might enjoy themselves. His wife obeyed
him, and did as her husband ordered her.
The next day they got up, got ready, and went. When
they arrived where the cattle were, the master said to his
shepherds: `Lads, assemble together, and sit down to eat
and drink your fill, and I will watch the cattle to-night.'
This was done; they assembled together, and he went out
to sleep by the cattle. In the course of the night, after
some time, the wolves began to howl and speak in their
language, and the dogs to bark and speak in theirs. The
wolves said: `Can we capture any young cattle?' The
dogs answered in their language: `Come in, that we, too,
may eat our fill of flesh.' But among the dogs there was
one old dog, who had only two teeth left. This dog spoke
and answered the wolves: `In faith, as long as these two
teeth of mine last, you shan't come near to do harm to my
master.' In the morning, when it dawned, the master
called the herdsmen, and told them to kill all the dogs except
that old one. His servants began to implore him:
`Don't, master! Why? It's a sin.' But he said to them:
`Do just as I ordered you, and not otherwise.'
Then he and his wife mounted their horses and went off.
His wife rode a mare, and he a horse. As they went, the
master's horse outstripped the wife's mare, and began to say
to her in their language: `Go quicker; why do you hang
back?' The mare's reply in defence of her lagging pace
was so amusing that the man laughed out loud, turned his
head, and looked behind him with a smile. His wife observed
him smiling, whipped her mare to catch him up, and
then asked him to tell her why he smiled. He said to her:
`Well, suppose I did? Something came into my head.'
This answer did not satisfy her, but she began to worry
him to tell her why he smiled. He said this and that to
her to get out of it, but the more he said to get out of it, the
more did she worry him. At length he said to her that, if
he told her, he would die immediately. But she had no
dread of her husband's dying, and went on worrying him:
`There is no alternative, but tell me you must.' When they
got home, they dismounted from their horses, and as soon
as they had done so, her husband ordered a grave to be dug
for him. It was dug, and he lay down in it, and said to his
wife: `Did you not press me to tell you why I smiled?
Come now, that I may tell you; but I shall die immediately.'
On saying this, he gave one more look round him,
and observed that the old dog had come from the cattle.
Seeing this, he told his wife to give him a piece of bread.
She gave it him, but the dog would not even look at it, but
shed tears and wept; but the cock, seeing it, ran up and
began to peck it. The dog was angry, and said: `As if
you'd die hungry! Don't you see that our master is going
to die?' `What a fool he is! Let him die! Whose fault
is it? I have a hundred wives. When I find a grain of
millet, I call them all to me, and finally eat it myself. If
one of them gets cross at this, I give her one or two pecks,
and she lowers her tail; but this man isn't equal to keeping
one in order.' When the man heard the cock say this, he
jumped up at once out of the grave, seized a stick, chased
his wife over hill and dale, and at last settled her completely,
so that it never entered her head any more to ask him why
he smiled.
