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.