A long time ago, there was a king who was famous for his wisdom. He seemed to know every secret in the land, as if the birds brought him news through the air. However, he had a strange habit. Every day after dinner, a servant brought him one final dish. The dish was covered, and no one—not even the servant—knew what was inside. The king only ate it when he was completely alone.
One day, the servant was so curious that he took the dish to his room. He locked the door and lifted the cover. Inside, he saw a white snake. He decided to taste a little piece of it. As soon as it touched his tongue, he heard strange voices outside his window. He realized he could understand the sparrows! By eating the snake, he had gained the power to understand the language of animals.
That same day, the queen lost her most beautiful ring. She suspected the servant, and the king was angry. "Find the thief by tomorrow," the king said, "or you will be executed."
Terrified, the servant went into the courtyard to think. He saw some ducks resting by a stream. He listened as they talked about their morning. One duck complained, "My stomach feels very heavy. I was eating too fast and swallowed a ring that was under the queen's window."
The servant immediately picked up the duck and took her to the cook. "This is a fine duck," he said. "You should kill her for dinner." The cook agreed. When he prepared the duck, he found the queen's ring inside.
The servant was saved. To apologize, the king offered him any position in the court. However, the servant only asked for a horse and some money to travel. He wanted to see the world.
As he traveled, he helped many animals. First, he saved three fish caught in the reeds. "We will remember you!" they cried. Later, he moved his horse so he wouldn't step on an ant colony. "One good turn deserves another!" the ant-king shouted. Finally, he gave his horse (which had died of tiredness) to some hungry young ravens. "We will repay you!" they promised.
Eventually, the servant reached a large city. The king there had announced that whoever wanted to marry his daughter must perform a difficult task. If they failed, they would die. When the young man saw the beautiful princess, he decided to try.
The first task was to find a gold ring at the bottom of the sea. As he stood on the shore, the three fish he had saved swam up to him with the ring in their mouths.
The princess was proud and did not want to marry a simple servant, so she gave him another task. She threw ten sacks of seeds onto the grass. "Pick them all up before the sun rises," she said. That night, thousands of ants—led by the ant-king—gathered every single seed into the sacks.
Finally, the princess asked for a golden apple from the Tree of Life. The young man had no idea where the tree was, but as he sat in the forest, the three ravens flew down to him. They had flown to the end of the world to find the apple for him.
The young man took the apple to the princess. They ate it together, and she finally fell in love with him. They lived happily for many, many years.