Sigurd Talks to Birds Volsunga Saga

Now Sigurđ cut the dragon’s heart out with the sword named Riđil.
Then Regin drank Fáfnir’s blood and said, “Do me a favor, Sigurđ, just
a little favor. Take the dragon’s heart to the fire and grill it, and then give
it to me to eat.”

Sigurđ put the heart on a spit to grill it. And when the blood had
boiled out of it, he put his finger to the heart to test whether it was fully
cooked. He then put his finger in his mouth, and when the blood from
the dragon’s heart touched his tongue, he could understand the language
of birds. He heard some wagtails talking in the branches above him.

One of the wagtails said, “There sits Sigurđ cooking Fáfnir’s heart.
He ought to be the one who eats it, and then he would be wiser than
any other man.”

Another bird said, “Over there is Regin. He’ll betray Sigurđ, who
trusts him.”

A third wagtail said, “He should cut off Regin’s head, and then all the
gold would be Sigurđ’s alone.”

A fourth one said, “He would be wiser if he took the advice you’ve
given him, and rode to Fáfnir’s lair and took all the gold there. Then he
ought to ride up to Hindarfjall, where Brynhild sleeps. There he could
learn great wisdom if he took your advice and thought about what he
needed. I always suspect a wolf, when I see a wolf’s ears sticking up.”

A fifth said, “Sigurđ isn’t as wise as I thought, if he lets one brother
live free when he has killed the other!”

A sixth said, “It would be very wise if Sigurđ killed Regin and took
all the treasure.”

Sigurđ said, “I won’t stand for that poor fate, to be killed by Regin.
I’d rather send both brothers in the same direction.” Then he drew the
sword Gram and cut off Regin’s head.

[...]

And Sigurđ’s strength was even greater than his size would suggest.
He knew how to fight with a sword and how to throw a long or short
spear and how to hold a shield, how to shoot an arrow and ride a horse,
and he learned many other noble arts in his youth.

He was a wise man who could see the future before it happened, and
he understood the language of birds, and because of talents like these
there were few events that caught him by surprise.


- Volsunga Saga, Chapters 19 and 22