The Fisherman and the Fish

once upon a time, there lived an old fisherman and his wife. They were poor and lived in an old, mud hut near the sea. One morning, he caught a small, golden fish. The fish begged the fisherman to let him go and offered to grant the fisherman's wishes in return. The man was kind and let the fish go.

The man went home and told his wife about the wonderful thing. She shouted at him and sent him back to the sea to catch the fish and ask for a new bucket because theirs was broken. The sun shone brightly as the man did this. When he returned, he saw a new bucket. But the fisherman's wife was still not happy and wanted a new house. The weather got bad as the man explained to the fish about his rude wife. The fish comforted him and promised to grant the second wish. When he returned, he saw a nice, new cottage.

The next day, his wife said that she wanted to be mayor of the city. The waves got big and the sky suddenly became dark as the man apologized to the golden fish. Again, the fish granted him his wish. However , the fisherman's wife was very greedy. The following week she told him to ask the fish to make her queen of the world.

The fisherman went down to the shore again. By now there was a terrible storm. There was thunder and lightning, and giant waves in the sea. The man shouted loudly. This time the fish did not reply. The

fisherman waited, but the golden fish never appeared. When the man returned home, he found his wife in the old, mud hut with their broken bucket.