Translation:Collection of Slavic Folk Tales/XI

XI

THE LANGUAGE OF ANIMALS

(BULGARIAN TALE)

A man had a shepherd who had served him faithfully for many years. One day, while tending his flock in the mountains, the shepherd heard a hissing. Not knowing what it was, he went to see, and spotted a fire in the middle of which a snake was hissing. He stayed to see how the snake would fare; for everything was burning around it, and the flames were almost touching it.

The snake, seeing him, cried out:

"Shepherd, I beg you, do a good deed, save me from these flames."

The shepherd took pity on it, extended his staff, and pulled it from the fire. Once out, the snake coiled around his neck:

"Wretch," cried the shepherd, stunned; "is this how you thank me for saving you? They say truly: do good and you'll find evil."

The snake answered him: "Fear nothing; I won't harm you; carry me to my father; my father is the king of snakes."

The shepherd thought and said:

"I can't carry you to your father; I have no one to entrust my flock to in my absence."

"Fear nothing," replied the snake, "no harm will come to it. Carry me to my father, and go quickly."

So they set off, crossed a forest, and arrived at a gate entirely woven with snakes. When they reached it, the snake around the shepherd's neck hissed; the others moved aside and let the shepherd pass.

As they passed the gate, the snake said to the shepherd:

"Wait, let me tell you something: when you arrive at my father's palace, he'll offer you whatever you want, gold and silver; don't accept and ask only to understand the language of animals; he won't grant this favor at first; but he'll end up agreeing."

They entered the palace; the old snake, seeing his son, cried out:

"Ah! my child! Where have you been so long?"

The other recounted the danger he had faced and how he had been saved. The father then turned to the shepherd and said:

"My son, what reward do you want me to give you?"

The shepherd answered: "I ask only to understand the language of animals."

The king of snakes said to him: "That's not for you. If I grant you this gift and you boast of it to anyone, you'll die instantly. Ask for something else."

"I want nothing else," replied the shepherd. "Grant me this favor, or farewell."

And he made ready to leave.

"Wait," cried the king of snakes, "come back. Since you insist, I'll grant it. Open your mouth."

The shepherd opened his mouth, and the king of snakes spat on his lips, then ordered him to spit on his. And they spat like this three times.

When this ceremony was done, the king of snakes said to the shepherd:

"You now have what you desired; go in peace; but beware of saying anything to anyone; otherwise, you'll die."

And the shepherd left. As he passed through the forest, he understood what the birds in the trees and the insects in the grass were saying, all in a word. Arriving at his flock, he found it intact and sat down to rest. Two ravens came and perched on a nearby tree and began to talk in their language:

"If this shepherd knew that where his black lamb is lying, there's a vault full of gold and silver in the ground, he'd dig it up."

Hearing these words, the shepherd went to tell his master; they hitched a cart and dug up the treasure. The master was a pious man; he gave it all to the shepherd: "God," he said, "sent it to you. Go, build a house, marry, and live happily."

The shepherd, in a short time, became so rich that there was no one richer in his village or the neighboring ones. He had shepherds, cowherds, swineherds, and stable boys in abundance. One day he ordered his wife to prepare wine, brandy, and everything needed for the next day's feast. He wanted, the next day, to visit his shepherds and treat them so they could rejoice too. His wife did everything he ordered.

The next day, they got up, prepared everything, and went to meet them: "My children," said the master, "gather together, sit down, eat and drink; tonight, I'll guard the flocks." They did as he said, and he went to the flocks and fell asleep.

Wolves came, howling and talking in their language. On the other hand, the dogs barked and howled in theirs. The wolves said: "If we could strangle some livestock." The dogs answered them: "Come, we'll feast with you."

But among them was an old dog with only two teeth left. He said to the wolves: "As long as I have these two teeth, I won't let you come near to harm my master."

The next morning, the master called the shepherds and ordered them to kill all the dogs except the old gap-tooth. The servants pleaded: "Don't do this, master. Why? It's a sin." — "Do," replied the master, "as I ordered and nothing else."

Then he set off with his wife, he on his horse, she on her mare. On the way, the horse overtook the mare, began to speak in its language, and said to her: "Go faster. How you dawdle!"

"Hey! my brother, that's easy for you to say; you carry only one rider; I carry three: the mistress, the child in her womb, and a foal in my belly."

The master, hearing these words, burst into laughter and turned around; his wife saw him laugh; she urged the mare, caught up with her husband, and asked why he had laughed.

"Something," he said, "crossed my mind."

This answer didn't satisfy her; she began to press him for another. He said what he could to dodge her questions. The more he tried to escape, the more she pressed him.

Finally, he told her that if he spoke, he would die instantly. But she didn't care much: "You must tell me at all costs."

When they arrived home, they dismounted; the husband ordered a grave to be dug for him. He lay in it and said to his wife: "You force me to tell you why I laughed; hear it, and I will die." As he said these words, he looked around and saw the old dog that had left its flock. He asked his wife to give him a piece of bread; she gave it to him, but the dog wouldn't even look at it; it shed abundant tears. Seeing the bread, the rooster ran up and began to peck at it.

"Wouldn't you think," cried the dog, "that you're starving? And here's our master about to die!"

The rooster replied: "Since he's a fool, let him die! Whose fault is it? I have a hundred wives; when I find a grain of millet, I call them all and swallow the grain. If one gets angry, I thrash her soundly until she lowers her tail. This one has only one and can't tame her."

The master, hearing the rooster's words, leapt suddenly from his grave, seized a stick, and thrashed his wife up and down, so that from that time on, it never crossed the lady's mind to ask him why he had laughed.