The Enchanted Fish
lived with his wife in a small hut close by the
seaside. The fisherman used to go fishing
every day. One day, as he sat in his boat with
his rod, looking at the sparkling waves and
watching his line, all of a sudden his float
was dragged away deep into the water. He
quickly started to reel in his line and
managed to pull out a huge fish. “Wow! This
will feed us for days.” Much to his surprise,
the fish started to talk and said, “Pray, let me
live! I am not a real fish; I am an enchanted
prince. Put me in the
water again, and let me me go! Have mercy o' kind fisherman.” The astonished fisherman quickly threw
him back,
exclaiming, “I don't want to hurt a talking fish! Go on! Go where you
came
from.”
When the
fisherman went home to his wife, he told her everything that
had
happened and how, on hearing it speak, he had let it go again. “Didn't
you ask
it for
anything?” said the wife. “No, I
didn't, what should I have asked for?” replied
the
fisherman.
“I am surprised
you don't realize what you should have asked for. We live very
wretchedly
here, in this nasty dirty hut. We are poor and I am so miserable. You
should
have asked for a nice cozy cottage. Now go back and ask the fish that we
want a
snug little cottage”, said his wife.
The
fisherman wasn't sure about this but he still went to the seashore, sat
in his
boat, went to the middle of the sea and said:
“O
enchanted beautiful fish!
Hear my
plea!
My wife
wants not what I want,
and she
won't give up till she has her own will,
so come forth and help me!”
The
fish immediately came swimming to him, and said, “Well, what is her
will? How can I help your wife?” “Ah!” said the fisherman, “she says that
when I
had caught you, I ought to have asked you for something before I
let you go. She
does not like living in our little hut, and wants a snug little
cottage.” “Go home,
then,” said
the fish, “She is already in the cottage!” So the fisherman went home,
and
saw his wife standing at the door of a nice trim little cottage. “Come in, come
on in! Look at the beautiful cottage we have.” Everything went fine for a while, and
then
one day fisherman's wife said, “Husband, there is not enough
room for us in
this cottage, go back to the fish and tell him to make me an
emperor.” “Wife,” said
the
fisherman, “I don't want to go to him again. Perhaps he will
be angry. We
ought to be happy with what the fish has given us and not be
greedy.” “Nonsense!”
said
the wife; “The fish will do it very willingly, I know. Go
along and try!” With a
heavy
heart the fisherman went to the middle of the sea and said:
“O enchanted beautiful fish!
Hear my plea!
My wife wants not what I want,
and she won't give up till she has her own will,
so come forth and help me!”
“What would she have now?” said
the fish. “Ah!” said
the fisherman, “she wants to
be an emperor.” “Go home,” said
the fish; “She is an emperor already.”
So
he went home and he saw his wife sitting on a very lofty throne made of
solid
gold, with a great crown on her head full two yards high. And on each side of
her
stood her guards and attendants in a row. The fisherman went up to her and
said,
“Wife, are you an emperor?” “Yes”, said she, “I am an emperor.” “Ah!” said the
man,
as he gazed upon her, “What a fine thing it is to be
an emperor!” “Husband,”
said
she, “it is good to be an emperor.” They were happy for a while.
Then
a time came when she was not able to sleep all night for she was
thinking
what she should ask next. At last, as she was about to fall asleep, morning
broke,
and the sun rose. “Ha!'” thought
she, as she woke up and looked at it
through
the window, “after all I cannot prevent the sun from rising.” At this
thought
she was very angry, and wakened her husband, and said, “Husband, go to
the fish and tell him I must be Lord of the sun and the moon.” The fisherman was
half
asleep, but the thought frightened him so much that he fell out of the bed.
“Alas, wife!” said
he, “cannot you be happy with being such a powerful
emperor?”
4
Kelas
XI“No,”
said she, “I am
very uneasy as long as the sun and the moon rise without my
permission.
Go to the fish at once!” “I don't think this is a good idea,” said the
fisherman
but his wife wouldn't listen to him. “ Why don't you just go and ask the
fish to
make me the Lord of everything,” she said.
Then the
man went shivering with fear. As he was going down to the shore
a dreadful
storm arose. The trees and the very rocks shook and the sky became
black with
stormy clouds. There were great black waves, swelling up like
mountains
with crowns of white foam upon their heads. Unfortunately the
fisherman
did not have any choice, so he got onto his boat and rowed to the
middle of the sea and cried out as loud
as he could:
Hear my
plea!
My wife
wants not what I want,
and she
won't give up till she has her own will,
so come
forth and help me!”
“What
does she want now?” said the fish. “I am
truly ashamed of my wife's
greed
but I can't do anything. She wants to be Lord of the sun and the moon.
“Go
home,” said the fish, “to your
small hut.” And it is said that they live there
to this very day.
