Many lifetimes ago, in one of the small villages that made up Holy Russia, a boy named Ivan sat down for an evening meal with his parents. Near the dinner table was the family’s prized nightingale. As the three listened to the caged birds song, Ivan’s father made an unforgettable request:
“Oh, how I wish I could understand the songs of the birds! I would give half my wealth to the man, if only there were such a man, who could share with me the meaning behind a bird’s melody.”
Ivan thought this a peculiar request, but like all good sons, he pondered his father’s words day and night. He too was curious about the language of the birds and hoped that one day, he could translate their chirps to words.
A few weeks later, Ivan was hunting wild game in the forest. The day began with sunshine, but by mid-afternoon, the skies were dark and the wind had grown fierce. Instead of heading towards home, Ivan decided to wait out the storm beneath a tree. He had packed his warmest cape, so he was warm and dry despite the drop in temperature.
But not all creatures in the forest were as prepared as Ivan.
As the winds howled and danced, the tree branches shook violently in response. Soon, Ivan heard a faint sound coming from above. He glanced up and saw a small nest filled with four naked birds. The birds were scared, vulnerable, and crying for their mother. Ivan knew that the birds would not survive without help, so he removed his cape and tied it to a few branches. His quick thinking made a cozy shelter for the chicks that likely saved their lives.
About an hour later, the skies cleared, and the winds calmed. Soon after, the bird’s mother returned to her nest, trilling in gratitude for Ivan’s kind deed. When the bird asked how she might repay the young man, he replied that he had every material item he could want, but he longed to know the language of the birds.
“That is easy,” replied the bird. “Stay with me for three days, and I will teach you all you need to know about speaking in song.”
Ivan did as the bird asked. Three days later, he returned home, confident that he knew the language of the birds.
That night, like always, the family sat down for their evening meal and the nightingale began its song. But this time, Ivan began to cry. Alarmed, his parents asked their good son why he was so upset.
Ivan hesitated. He did not want to share the message from the nightingale, but his father insisted.
“The nightingale says that there will come a day when I will no longer be your son, but that of a King. And father, you will serve me as a humble servant,” said Ivan.
Ivan’s parents were surprised by the seemingly hostile omen, and his father instantly became suspicious. On a whim, the parents added a sleeping powder to their son’s dessert, and when he fell asleep, they rested him in a small boat and pushed him out to sea.
Ivan slept for hours and only woke when his boat collided with a large merchant ship. The crew took him aboard and put him to work, but Ivan couldn’t focus. He was distracted by the cranes flying overhead.
When he heard the cranes’ song, he went to share the message with the captain.
“A great storm is coming,” Ivan said. “We must find the nearest harbor if we want to avoid damage to the vessel.”
But the captain paid no attention to Ivan’s warning.
Within an hour, the skies darkened, and the wind picked up. As the great ship tossed and turned amongst the waves, the wind tore the sails from the mast, and the men scrambled to secure anything of value. Just as the cranes predicted, the storm nearly destroyed the ship.
As the crew worked to repair the damage, a flock of swans arrived. When Ivan overheard the chatter, he stopped working to decipher their song.
This time, the men were curious about their new shipmate and asked Ivan what the swans had said.
He told them that this time, the birds weren’t here to warn of poor weather, but of nearby pirates. He said that if the men didn’t seek safety within the nearest harbor, they would be robbed of their goods, their boat, and likely, their lives.
The captain of the ship was too wise to make the same mistake twice, so he changed course and headed towards land. As soon as the crew docked the boat in the harbor, they saw a fleet of pirate ships in the distance. Ivan and the captain watched as the pirates boarded and looted several merchant vessels.
Although Ivan enjoyed the open ocean, now that he was back on land, he wished to stay. The captain was sad to see him go, but bid him farewell and suggested that he visit the castle. Perhaps the King would have use for a man skilled in the language of the birds.
When Ivan arrived at the castle gates, there was a sign posted in the entryway. The sign explained that three crows were tormenting the King. The crows argued day and night outside of his majesty’s window, and the King was desperate for peace. The sign claimed that any person who could rid the castle of the crows would be showered in riches and good fortune. But if that person’s attempt was unsuccessful, they were as good as dead.
Ivan read the sign three times and then asked one of the doormen to speak to the King.
When the young man arrived in the King’s chambers, he introduced himself as a man who could speak to birds.
“Dear Sir, I ask that you please open the windows so I can hear the crows. Only then will I be able to share their message and deliver the peace you so desperately desire.”
The King snorted in disbelief but opened the windows anyway.
Ivan listened for a moment and said, “The crows request your majesty’s royal decision in an important matter. On your windowsill sit three crows; a mother, a father, and their son. The parents argue because their son can only follow one, will it be the mother or father?”
The King replied, “The son must follow his father.”
With this decree, the three crows said their goodbyes and flew away.
The King was overjoyed. True to his promise, he gave Ivan a hefty sum of money and welcomed him into his kingdom.
Ivan lived with the King for many years and eventually married his daughter, Princess Korolevna. One day, while the Princess was visiting her parents, a beggar appeared at Ivan’s door.
The man was familiar, so Ivan invited him inside to rest his weary soul. He offered him a warm meal and asked the beggar to share his story.
The pauper said that he once was a wealthy man, not only rich with material items, but with the greatest gift of all—family. He explained that unfortunately, his wife had recently passed away. He missed her dearly, almost as much as his son.
Ivan asked the poor man how he could help. The man replied that he would be happy to live out his days serving the young man who showed him compassion in his darkest days.
It was at that moment that Ivan understood why this man was so familiar. This beggar, old and worn from time and sorrow, was his father.
Ivan was overjoyed. He was not angry at his father for his misgivings, and instead, Ivan embraced him. Once the old man realized that he was looking at his son, he started to weep.
He asked Ivan how this was possible. How did he not perish at sea?
Ivan thought for a moment and reflected on what the birds had taught him.
“I suppose,” he said, “that it was my understanding of the birds’ songs that saved me. I wasn’t destined to die at sea. My purpose was as the nightingale predicted; to venture out and create a new life, one where I had the power and awareness to sweeten the old age of my dear father.”
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This retelling was adapted from the Russian folktale, The Language of the Birds.
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