Long ago in a small town in Netherlands there lived a rich farmer. The farmer's farm was filled with flock of sheep's and cattle. The farmer had a shepherd who used to take care of these animals and the farmer liked the shepherd as he was his faithful and honest servant. One fine morning the shepherd took the sheep's in the nearby mountains to feed them. While the sheep's were busy grazing grass the shepherd thought of taking rest under a tree. When the shepherd came near the tree he heard some strange sounds coming from the bushes nearby and so he went in the direction to discover the cause.
The shepherd was surprised to see a tree surrounded by flames and a snake was coiled in the tree trying to escape. The shepherd though frightened stood there wondering how he could save the snake from the fire. The snake noticed the shepherd and cried "Please help me!". The shepherd took his large stick which he always carried to control the sheep's and pointed it towards the snake and directed the snake to climb on it and escape. The snake took advantage of the opportunity and did as directed by the shepherd and was able to escape from the fire. The snake approached towards the shepherd and now the shepherd trembled with fear as he thought the snake was approaching to bite him. The snake said "Have no fear for I shall do you no harm, only carry me to home to my father who is the King of Snakes". The shepherd was surprised to hear that but he said I cannot do that as I have to look after my flock. "Don't be afraid for no evil shall befall them, but take me to my father" said the snake.
So the shepherd took the snake and walked on his way to the snake kingdom. On the way the snake told the shepherd "My father the Snake King may gift you with valuable treasures but please don't accept them, ask rather to understand the language of beasts". This is will be useful to you in the future than any of the treasures and the shepherd agreed to do so. After travelling for a while he stopped in-front of a huge Castle which was guarded by large poisonous snakes. The guardian snakes saw the shepherd carrying their princess so they did not harm him and instead opened the gates for the shepherd to come inside. They took him to the King of Snakes who was overjoyed to see his daughter and burst into tears as he had given her up for dead.
"Where have you been my sweet little princesses asked the King, I was so worried for you !". The princesses narrated the whole incident to her father and explained how the shepherd had rescued her from the fire. The King of the Snakes was pleased to hear about the shepherd's courage and asked him "What reward will you choose for saving my child?". The shepherd asked the king" Make me understand the language of beasts for I want to". After some argument the King agreed to grant his wish. He ordered the shepherd to open his mouth and on doing so the King spat onto it, and ordered the shepherd to do the same. The shepherd did as he was told and after spatting into each other's mouth for three times the King said "From now on you can understand the language of beasts, go in peace; but beware that if anyone comes to know that you can understand the language of beasts you will die immediately".
So the shepherd started his journey towards the mountains to fetch his sheep's. On the way through the woods he was able to understand all that was said by the birds and other creatures. When he got back to his sheep flock he saw that the sheep's were grazing peacefully and so the shepherd thought of taking some rest under the tree. After some time he woke up hearing the perching sound of two sparrows on the tree. The first sparrow told the second " Poor shepherd is working so hard if only he could knew the fact that there is a vault full of gold coins beneath where that lamb is lying". After hearing the two sparrow's conversation the shepherd left for home. That night during supper he told his master that he feels that there is something lying in the vault and they need to open it. The master opened the door of the vault and was surprised to see the treasure. He gave the whole treasure to the shepherd saying "Take it as it is your's and God has given this to you for your honesty and hard work".
So the shepherd took the gold and built a beautiful house with the money. He then got married and lived happily with his wife. Now he was a rich man as he had flocks of sheep's and cattle and dogs to take care of the cattle. He had many servants who worked for him. The shepherd was always kind towards his servants and treated them well. One night while the shepherd was at his farm he saw few wolves wandering near his farm. The wolves spoke with the dogs there saying " We shall come tomorrow night to eat some of your sheep's and you too shall eat flesh for we will share it with you". The dogs agreed but there was one old dog who was very loyal to his master and he said "I will let no harm to be done to the cattle as long as a I am alive". The shepherd heard and understood everything and the next day morning he ordered his servants to kill all the dogs except the old dog. Thus by understanding the language of beasts the merchant was able to protect his cattle. The shepherd always remained grateful to the snake princesses.
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