And now for a read aloud of The Fisherman and His Wife.
Once there was a fisherman who lived with his wife in a little, old, run-down hut by the sea
Every day the fisherman went down to the sea to fish.
One day, as the fisherman sat looking into the clear, shining water, he felt a strong
tug on his line.
He pulled and pulled with all his might, until, at last, out flopped a large golden flounder.
Then, all of a sudden, the fish spoke.
“Please let me go,” said the fish.
“I am not an ordinary fish.
I am an enchanted prince.
Put me back in the water and let me live!”
“Swim away!” said the fisherman.
“I would not eat a fish that can talk!”
At the end of the day, the fisherman went back to his wife in the little, old, run-down
hut.
“Didn’t you catch anything today?” she asked.
“No,” said the fisherman.
“I did catch one fish, but he told me he was an enchanted prince and asked me to throw
him back, so I did.”
“You fool!” said the wife.
“That was a magic fish!
You should have asked him for something.”
“Like what?” said the fisherman.
“Go back and ask him to change this dinky hut into a charming cottage.”
The fisherman did not want to go, but he did not want to argue with his wife, either.
So he made his way back to the sea.
When he arrived, the water was no longer clear and shining.
It was dull and greenish.
The fisherman called: “Hear me, please, oh magic fi sh.
My wife has sent me with a wish.”
The fish swam up to the surface and asked, “What does she want?”
“She says she wants to live in a charming cottage,” said the fisherman.
“Go home,” said the fish.
“She has her cottage.”
The fisherman went home.
Sure enough, there was his wife, standing in the doorway of a charming cottage.
The cottage had a little front yard, with a garden and some chickens and a goose pecking
at the ground.
Inside there was a living room, a kitchen, a dining room, and a bedroom.
“Wonderful!” said the fisherman.
“This is sure to make you very happy!”
The fisherman’s wife was happy—for about a week.
Then she said, “Husband, I am tired of this tiny little cottage.
I want to live in a big stone castle.
Go and ask the fish to give us a castle.”
“But, wife,” said the fisherman.
“He has just given us this cottage.
If I go back again so soon, he may be angry with me.”
“Go and ask!” said the wife.
The fisherman shook his head and mumbled to himself, “It’s not right.”
But he did as he was told.
When he reached the sea, the water had turned from dull green to dark purple and gray.
The fisherman called: “Hear me, please, oh magic fish.
My wife has sent me with a wish.”
When the fish swam up, the fisherman said, “My wife wishes to live in a big stone castle.”
“Go home,” said the fish.
“You will find her in a castle.”
When the fisherman got back, he could hardly believe his eyes.
The charming cottage had been replaced by a large stone castle.
A servant unrolled a drawbridge for him.
The fisherman went across the bridge and into the castle, where he found two servants sweeping
a smooth marble floor.
The walls were covered with beautiful tapestries.
Crystal chandeliers hung from the ceilings.
His wife stood in the center of the room, next to a table piled high with delicious
foods.
“Now, indeed, you will be content,” said the fisherman to his wife.
And she was—until the next morning.
As the sun rose, the fisherman’s wife poked her husband in the side and said, “Husband,
get up.
Go to the fish at once and tell him that I wish to be queen of all the land.”
“Heavens!” cried the fisherman.
“I can’t ask for that!”
“Go and ask him!” said his wife.
The dejected fisherman walked to the sea.
The water was black.
It bubbled and gave off a foul smell.
The fisherman hesitated, and then called: “Hear me, please, oh magic fish.
My wife has sent me with a wish.”
The fish swam up and asked, “Now what does she want?”
With his head hung low, the fisherman said, “My wife wishes to be queen of all the land.”
“Go home,” said the fish.
“She is already queen.”
The fisherman went home and found that the castle had grown even larger.
It had tall stone turrets on each corner and a crimson flag flapping in the wind.
Two sentries in suits of armor stood at the door.
They escorted the fisherman inside, where he found his wife sitting on a high throne
studded with diamonds.
She wore a long silk dress and a golden crown.
In her hand she held a scepter studded with rubies.
On one side of her stood barons, dukes, and duchesses.
On the other side stood a line of ladies-in-waiting, each one shorter than the one before.
“So,” said the fisherman, “now you are queen.”
“Indeed,” said his wife haughtily.
“Well, then,” said the fisherman.
“I suppose there is nothing more to wish for.”
But that very evening, as the sun went down and the moon began to rise in the sky, the
fisherman’s wife sent for her husband.
“Husband!” she bellowed, “it displeases me that the sun and moon will not rise and
set at my command.
Go to the fish and tell him I must have the power to make the sun and the moon rise and
set whenever I choose.
See that it is done immediately!”
The fisherman walked back to the sea.
He felt sick all over, and his knees knocked together nervously.
At the seaside, thunder roared and lightning flashed.
Huge dark waves crashed on the shore.
The fisherman had to shout: “Hear me, please, oh magic fish.
My wife has sent me with a wish.”
The fish swam up and asked, “What does she want?”
The fisherman replied, “My wife wants the power to make the sun and the moon rise and
set whenever she chooses.”
The fish only said, “Go home.”
And so he did.
There, he found his wife sitting in the old, run-down hut.
And there they live to this very day.
So the moral of the story is: Always be content with what you have.