"As Holy Scripture tells us, the wise King Solomon, the son of David “spake also of beasts, and of fowl, and of creeping things, and of fishes” (I King IV. 33). A slight misreading of this text, which very probably is the oldest record of a biological lecture, has given rise to the charming legend the king was able to talk the language of the animals, which was hidden from all other men. Although this venerable tale that he spake to the animals and not of them certainly originated from a misunderstanding, I feel inclined to accept it as a truth; I am quite ready to believe that Solomon really could do so, even without the help of a magic ring which is attributed to him by the legend in question, and I have a very good reason of crediting it; I can do it myself, and without the aid of magic, black or other-wise."
Konrad Lorenz, King Solomon’s Ring
