The Story of the Fisherman and his Wife
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Once upon a time... There was once a fisherman and his wife who lived together in a little hut close to the sea, and the fisherman used to go down every day to fish; and he would fish and fish. So he used to sit with his rod and gaze into the shining water; and he would gaze and gaze. Now, once the line was pulled deep under the water, and when he hauled it up he hauled a large flounder with it. The flounder said to him, 'Listen, fisherman. I pray you to let me go; I am not a real flounder, I am an enchanted Prince. What good will it do you if you kill me--I shall not taste nice? Put me back into the water and let me swim away.' 'Well,' said the man, 'you need not make so much noise about it; I am sure I had much better let a flounder that can talk swim away.' With these words he put him back again into the shining water, and the flounder sank to the bottom, leaving a long streak of blood behind. Then the fisherman got up, and went home to his wife in the hut. 'Husband,' said his wife, 'have you caught nothing to-day?' 'No,' said the man. 'I caught a flounder who said he was an enchanted prince, so I let him swim away again.' 'Did you wish nothing from him?' said his wife. 'No,' said the man; 'what should I have wished from him?' 'Ah!' said the woman, 'it's dreadful to have to live all one's life in this hut that is so small and dirty; you ought to have wished for a cottage. Go now and call him; say to him that we choose to have a cottage, and he will certainly give it you.' 'Alas!' said the man, 'why should I go down there again?' 'Why,' said his wife, 'you caught him, and then let him go again, so he is sure to give you what you ask. Go down quickly.' The man did not like going at all, but as his wife was not to be persuaded, he went down to the sea. When he came there the sea was quite green and yellow, and was no longer shining. So he stood on the shore and said: 'Once a prince, but changed you be Into a flounder in the sea. Come! for my wife, Ilsebel, Wishes what I dare not tell.' Then the flounder came swimming up and said, 'Well, what does she want?' 'Alas!' said the man, 'my wife says I ought to have kept you and wished something from you. She does not want to live any longer in the hut; she would like a cottage.' 'Go home, then,' said the flounder; 'she has it.' So the man went home, and there was his wife no longer in the hut, but in its place was a beautiful cottage, and his wife was sitting in front of the door on a bench. She took him by the hand and said to him, 'Come inside, and see if this is not much better.' They went in, and inside the cottage was a tiny hall, and a beautiful sitting-room, and a bedroom in which stood a bed, a kitchen and a dining-room all furnished with the best of everything, and fitted u p with every kind of tin and copper utensil. And outside was a little yard in which were chickens and ducks, and also a little garden with vegetables and fruit trees. 'See,' said the wife, 'isn't this nice?' 'Yes,' answered her husband; 'here we shall remain and live very happily.' 'We will think about that,' said his wife. With these words they had their supper and went to bed. All went well for a week or a fortnight, then the wife said: 'Listen, husband; the cottage is much too small, and so is the yard and the garden; the flounder might just as well have sent us a larger house. I should like to live in a great stone castle. Go down to the flounder, and tell him to send us a castle.' 'Ah, wife!' said the fisherman, 'the cottage is quite good enough; why do we choose to live in a castle?' 'Why?' said the wife. 'You go down; the flounder can quite well do that.' 'No, wife,' said the man; 'the flounder gave us the cottage. I do not like to go to him again; he might take it amiss.' 'Go,' said his wife. 'He can certainly give it us, and ought to do so willingly. Go at once.' The fisherman's heart was very heavy, and he did not like going. He said to himself, 'It is not right.' Still, he went down. When he came to the sea, the water was all violet and dark-blue, and dull and thick, and no longer green and yellow, but it was still smooth. So he stood there and said: 'Once a prince, but changed you be Into a flounder in the sea. Come! for my wife, Ilsebel, Wishes what I dare not tell.' 'What does she want now?' said the flounder. 'Ah!' said the fisherman, half-ashamed, 'she wants to live in a great stone castle.' 'Go home; she is standing before the door,' said the flounder. The fisherman went home and thought he would find no house. When he came near, there stood a great stone palace, and his wife was standing on the steps, about to enter. She took him by the hand and said, 'Come inside.' Then he went with her, and inside the castle was a large hall with a marble floor, and there were heaps of servants who threw open the great doors, and the walls were covered with beautiful tapestry, and in the apartments were gilded chairs and tables, and crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling, and all the rooms were beautifully carpeted. The best of food and drink also was set before them when they wished to dine. And outside the house was a large courtyard with horse and cow stables and a coach-house--all fine buildings; and a splendid garden with most beautiful flowers and fruit, and in a park quite a league long were deer and roe and hares, and everything one could wish for. 'Now,' said the wife, 'isn't this beautiful?' 'Yes, indeed,' said the fisherman. 'Now we will stay here and live in this beautiful castle, and be very happy.' ' We will consider the matter,' said his wife, and they went to bed. The next morning the wife woke up first at daybreak, and looked out of the bed at the beautiful country stretched before her. Her husband was still sleeping, so she dug her elbows into his side and said: 'Husband, get up and look out of the window. Could we not become the king of all this land? Go down to the flounder and tell him we choose to be king.' 'Ah, wife!' replied her husband, 'why should we be king? I don't want to be king.' 'Well,' said his wife, 'if you don't want to be king, I will be king. Go down to the flounder; I will be king.' 'Alas! wife,' said the fisherman, 'why do you want to be king? I can't ask him that.' 'And why not?' said his wife. 'Go down at once. I must be king.' So the fisherman went, though much vexed that his wife wanted to be king. 'It is not right! It is not right,' he thought. He did not wish to go, yet he went. When he came to the sea, the water was a dark-grey colour, and it was heaving against the shore. So he stood and said: 'Once a prince, but changed you be Into a flounder in the sea. Come! for my wife, Ilsebel, Wishes what I dare not tell.' 'What does she want now?' asked the flounder. 'Alas!' said the fisherman, 'she wants to be king.' 'Go home; she is that already,' said the flounder. The fisherman went home, and when he came near the palace he saw that it had become much larger, and that it had great towers and splendid ornamental carving on it. A sentinel was standing before the gate, and there were numbers of soldiers with kettledrums and trumpets. And when he went into the palace, he found everything was of pure marble and gold, and the curtains of damask with tassels of gold. Then the doors of the hall flew open, and there stood the whole Court round his wife, who was sitting on a high throne of gold and diamonds; she wore a great golden crown, and had a sceptre of gold and precious stones in her hand, and by her on either side stood six pages in a row, each one a head taller than the other. Then he went before her and said: 'Ah, wife! are you king now?' 'Yes,' said his wife; 'now I am king.' He stood looking at her, and when he had looked for some time, he said: 'Let that be enough, wife, now that you are king! Now we have nothing more to wish for.' 'Nay, husband,' said his wife restlessly, 'my wishing powers are boundless; I cannot restrain them any longer. Go down to the flounder; king I am, now I must be emperor.' 'Alas! wife,' said the fisherman, 'why do you want to be emperor?' 'Husband,' said she, 'go to the flounder; I will be emperor.' 'Ah, wife,' he said, 'he cannot make you emperor; I don't like to ask him that. There is only one emperor in the kingdom. Indeed and indeed he cannot make you empe ror.' 'What!' said his wife. 'I am king, and you are my husband. Will you go at once? Go! If he can make king he can make emperor, and emperor I must and will be. Go!' So he had to go. But as he went, he felt quite frightened, and he thought to himself, 'This can't be right; to be emperor is too ambitious; the flounder will be tired out at last.' Thinking this he came to the shore. The sea was quite black and thick, and it was breaking high on the beach; the foam was flying about, and the wind was blowing; everything looked bleak. The fisherman was chilled with fear. He stood and said: 'Once a prince, but changed you be Into a flounder in the sea. Come! for my wife, Ilsebel, Wishes what I dare not tell.' 'What does she want now?' asked flounder. 'Alas! flounder,' he said, 'my wife wants to be emperor.' 'Go home,' said the flounder; 'she is that already.' So the fisherman went home, and when he came there he saw the whole castle was made of polished marble, ornamented with alabaster statues and gold. Before the gate soldiers were marching, blowing trumpets and beating drums. Inside the palace were walking barons, counts, and dukes, acting as servants; they opened the door, which was of beaten gold. And when he entered, he saw his wife upon a throne which was made out of a single block of gold, and |
