The Language of Birds

In a certain town lived a merchant and his wife, and God gave them a son named Vasily, wise beyond his years. Once the three of them were having dinner. Above…

In a certain town lived a merchant and his wife, and God gave them a son named Vasily, wise beyond his years. Once the three of them were having dinner. Above the table hung a caged nightingale, singing so sorrowfully that the merchant could not help saying:

“If I could find someone who would tell me truly what that nightingale is singing and what fate it foretells, I believe I would give him half my property in my lifetime and leave him a great deal more when I died.”

The boy, who was about six then, looked intently into his parents’ eyes and said:

“I know what the nightingale is singing, but I’m afraid to tell you.”

“Tell us everything!” his father and mother insisted, and Vasya said through his tears:

“The nightingale foretells that a time will come when you will serve me: Father will bring me water, and Mother a towel to dry my face and hands.”

These words distressed the merchant and his wife so deeply that they decided to get rid of their child. They built a little boat, laid the sleeping boy in it one dark night and set it adrift on the open sea. Just then the prophetic nightingale flew out of its cage, reached the boat and settled on the boy’s shoulder.

The little boat floated over the sea, and a ship came towards it under full sail. The shipmaster saw the boy and took pity on him. He brought him aboard, asked what had happened and promised to keep him and love him as his own son. The next day the boy said to his new father:

“The nightingale sings that a storm will rise, break the masts and tear the sails. We must turn back to shelter.”

But the shipmaster would not listen. Sure enough, a storm arose, broke the masts and tore the sails. There was nothing to be done; what was past could not be undone. They fitted new masts, repaired the sails and sailed on. Then Vasya spoke again:

“The nightingale sings that twelve ships are coming towards us, all of them pirate ships. They will take us captive!”

This time the shipmaster listened, turned towards an island and watched those twelve ships, all pirate ships, sail past.

The shipmaster waited as long as necessary and then sailed on. After some time the ship reached the town of Khvalynsk. For several years a raven, his mate and their young one had been flying and calling outside the local king’s palace windows, giving nobody peace by day or night. Whatever people tried, no trick could drive them away; even shot could not harm them! The king ordered a proclamation to be posted at every crossroads and landing place: whoever drove the raven and his mate away from the palace windows would receive half his kingdom and his younger daughter in marriage; whoever attempted the task and failed would have his head cut off. Many had hoped to become the king’s kinsman, but all had laid their heads beneath the axe. Vasya heard about this and asked the shipmaster:

“Let me go to the king and drive away the raven and his mate.”

However much the shipmaster tried to dissuade him, he could not hold him back.

“Well, go,” he said. “But if anything bad happens, you’ll have only yourself to blame!”

Vasya came to the palace, told the king his purpose and asked for the window by the ravens to be opened. He listened to their calls and said to the king:

“Your Majesty, you can see for yourself that there are three of them: a raven, his wife and their son. The raven and his wife are arguing over whom the son belongs to, his father or his mother, and they ask you to settle their dispute. Your Majesty, say whom the son belongs to.”

The king said:

“His father.”

No sooner had the king spoken than the raven and his son flew to the right, and the female raven to the left.

After that the king took the boy into his household, and he lived there in great favour and honour. He grew into a fine young man, married the princess and received half the kingdom as her dowry. One day he decided to travel through different places and foreign lands, to see other people and show himself to them. He made ready and set off. In one town he stopped for the night. When he rose in the morning, he asked for water to wash. His host brought him water and his hostess a towel. The king’s son-in-law talked with them and discovered that they were his father and mother. He wept for joy and fell at his parents’ feet. Afterwards he took them with him to Khvalynsk, and they all lived together, prospering and adding to their good fortune.