The Great Gospel of John
Volume 4
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
Jesus near Caesarea Philippi (cont.)
- Chapter 258 -
The language of the animals.
Says the black with a brightening face: "Yes, yes, yes, - now I also understand this very well and believe at the same time to understand also other things which I earlier have not comprehended so well! In this way we also understand the language of the animals completely and who wants to go through the trouble to modulate the few noises of the animals according to the inner feeling and the nature soul-like intelligence, which of course requires a little practise -, can speak with animals almost like with people and learn from them what in all seriousness is of no little importance. I have tried it already, but never managed to speak a language understandable to all animals, because my organs are not equipped accordingly and still not suitable; but I can understand everything what any animal says to its equal.
2
As such I have overheard very clearly two ichneumons at home at the Nile when being very close to them without them noticing me. The well recognizable male said to the female: 'You, I fear for our children who a day's travel from here downstream are chasing after crocodile eggs! I fear that our oldest son, when fully stuffed sluggishly rest at the shore, being caught by an evil eagle and carried into the air and is despicably torn to pieces on a rock and eaten to the bones! If we both hurry very nimbly, we could still prevent this misfortune from happening! In the evening the lions and panthers are coming to the Nile to drink water, and travelling would be dangerous for us; but let us quickly leave this place in which not much is to be gained anyway, and there will be no danger on the long route to there, and we save our oldest son!' The female got up and said nothing else than: 'Then lets hurry in the usual way!' And when the female had said this, they moved fast like an arrow over rocks and stones along the Nile.
3
After about fourteen days I came again to the same place, because I noticed in myself that a whole ichneumon family was present there. With silent steps I cam closer and found seven ichneumons playing and having fun on a sandbank and teasing each other in a friendly manner. But this time I also took my servant along, because he was especially good to speak to various animal species.
4
When we came very quietly behind a bush to the place at the river and could hear their gossiping quite well, the familiar female said to the male: 'You, look at the bush over there; behind it are lurking two people! Should we flee, since one can never trust them!' Thereupon the male sniffed several times at our direction and said to the female: 'Be calm, little woman! I know these two; they are not evil people, and they will not hurt us in the least. They understand us, and one of them could even speak to us if he wanted to. We will still talk to them, and then they will give us milk and bread to eat!'
5
Upon this the female was quiet and started to joyfully jump and dance around again; since it was very happy to have saved the son finding himself in great danger. But the son was also a particularly well-build animal and expressed a way of self-feeling which could be referred to in our human moral sphere as proudness.
6
My guide thought that without any further hesitation we could get closer to the cheerful society of ichneumons and they would not flee from us. We did this, and see, the old male even showed us a kind of politeness and guided us to a comfortable place as spectators, however mentioning that we should not step onto the sandbank, because there were many crocodile eggs buried and that he now was busy to let his young practise to find the evil eggs.
7
We did this and my servant gave the male his full assurance that he and his society does not have to fear anything and that we will feed them copiously with milk and milk-bread (cheese) during our stay. Upon this the male said: 'This will be very good, and I will clean for you the stream from all crocodile eggs. However, wait with your charity for another two full days; since my young have to be forced by the hunger, to destroy crocodile eggs, only then will on the third day the sweet tasting reward be at the right place.'
8
Thereupon the servant again asked the male how it happens that crocodile eggs are planted in this area since never ever has anyone seen a crocodile in this region of the river. And the male said: 'The crocodiles are quite clever and are very knowledgeable about nature. By their nature and experience they know, that their eggs in these high lying areas of the stream are developing better and more healthier as in the low lying areas of the river. Therefore immediately after the rainy season they swim at night to here and still several day-travels further from here upwards into the area of the hard water of the river and bury countless many eggs in the warm sand. When finished with this work during the time when you big people just like us cannot get close to the shore of the river because of the mud, they return again swimming at night to the low lying areas where there are rich herds, which they successfully hunt at night. After the young are hatched they go immediately into the water and are swimming quite comfortable to the locality where their parents are usually staying. There they find food and grow very quickly. However, since we know where to find their strongest eggs, we follow them, try to destroy them as much as possible and feed ourselves with this for us good tasting food. Only finding them is initially a little troublesome, and in addition we are bothered by a few enemies; the one is the mighty inhabitant of the air, the eagle, and the second is the damned rattlesnake. But if we are together in a group, then both cannot cause us any harm. - But now pay attention how we are searching and finding the eggs and destroy them immediately!'
9
Hereupon the male jumped up and squeaked for the human ear a few monotonous, inarticulate sounds whose meaning I could not understand very well; but my sharp listening servant said that the male has given the command to search for the eggs. And right, the little animals started to sniff into the sand, and as soon as they found a place where a layer of eggs where buried in the sand, they made a very specific noise, dug quickly into the sand and exposed the eggs, and immediately began to exterminate the found prey. They only consumed the little ones; the large ones were only bitten and thrown nimbly in the water with their front paws. Thereafter the hunt immediately started anew.