"For heaven's sake! my dearest daughter, where have you been?"
And she told him in due order how she had been surrounded by the forest-fire, and how the shepherd had rescued her. Then the king of the snakes turned to the shepherd and said to him,—
"What would you have me give you for the deliverance of my daughter?"
The shepherd answered, "Only let me understand the language of animals; I want nothing else."
Then the king said, "That is not good for you; for if I were to bestow upon you the gift of the knowledge of the tongue of animals, and you were to tell any one of it, you would instantly die. Ask, therefore, for something else; whatever you desire to possess, I will give to you."
To which the shepherd replied,—
"If you wish to give me anything, then grant me the knowledge of the language of brute creatures; but if you do not care to give me that—farewell, and God protect you! I want nothing else." And the shepherd turned to leave the place.
Then the king called him back, saying,—
"Stay! come here to me, since you will have it at all hazards. Open your mouth."
The shepherd opened his mouth, and the king of the snakes breathed into it, and said,—
