Then the magician brewed a powerful potion out of nine sorts of herbs which he had gathered himself all alone by moonlight , and he gave the youth nine spoonfuls of it daily for three days , which made him able to understand the language of birds . At parting the magician said to him . ` If you ever find Solomon 's ring and get possession of it , then come back to me , that I may explain the inscription on the ring to you , for there is no one else in the world who can do this . ' From that time the youth never felt lonely as he walked along ; he always had company , because he understood the language of birds ; and in this way he learned many things which mere human knowledge could never have taught him . But time went on , and he heard nothing about the ring . It happened one evening , when he was hot and tired with walking , and had sat down under a tree in a forest to eat his supper , that he saw two gaily-plumaged birds , that were strange to him , sitting at the top of the tree talking to one another about him . The first bird said : ' I know that wandering fool under the tree there , who has come so far without finding what he seeks . He is trying to find King Solomon 's lost ring . ' The other bird answered , ` He will have to seek help from the Witch-maiden , -LRB- 3 -RRB- who will doubtless be able to put him on the right track . If she has not got the ring herself , she knows well enough who has it . ' -LRB- 3 -RRB- Hollenmadchen . ` But where is he to find the Witch-maiden ? ' said the first bird . ` She has no settled dwelling , but is here to-day and gone to-morrow . He might as well try to catch the wind . ' The other replied , ' I do not know , certainly , where she is at present , but in three nights from now she will come to the spring to wash her face , as she does every month when the moon is full , in order that she may never grow old nor wrinkled , but may always keep the bloom of youth . ' ` Well , ' said the first bird , ` the spring is not far from here . Shall we go and see how it is she does it ? ' ` Willingly , if you like , ' said the other . The youth immediately resolved to follow the birds to the spring , only two things made him uneasy : first , lest he might be asleep when the birds went , and secondly , lest he might lose sight of them , since he had not wings to carry him along so swiftly .
He was too tired to keep awake all night , yet his anxiety prevented him XXXXX sleeping soundly , and when with the earliest dawn he looked up to the tree-top , he was glad to see his feathered companions still asleep with their heads under their wings .
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