The Fisherman and His Wife

"The Fisherman and His Wife" by The Brothers Grimm 

Once upon a time there was a poor old fisherman who lived with his wife in a little hut on the edge of a cliff overlooking the sea. 

One day, the fisherman paddled his tiny boat far out into the water to try to catch some fish. He sat in his boat all day without catching a single fish. As he was about to turn around and head home, he felt a tug on his fishing line. 

He reeled in his line and-plop-a fish dropped into his boat. 

"Hey, what's the big idea?!" said the fish. 

"Holy Mackerel!" the fisherman shouted in surprise, having never seen a talking fish before. 

"Actually, I'm a magic trout," replied the fish. "Would you please let me go?" 

Although the fisherman was hungry and hadn't caught anything else that day, he took pity on the little fish flopping around next to him. He picked the fish up by the tail, swung it around over his head, and tossed it overboard. 

"Thank you!" wailed the fish as it flew through the air and landed with a splash back in the water. 

That night, the fisherman returned to his little hut and told his wife about what had happened. He expected her to be happy and congratulate him for being a hero, but when he finished the story she only looked mad. 

"You caught a magic trout?" asked his wife. 

"Yes." replied the fisherman. 

"And you let him go, just like that?" 

"It seemed like the right thing to do." he answered. 

"But if that fish was magic, you could have asked it for a favor in return for letting it go," she explained. 

"What could we possibly need? We have each other and we have a roof over our heads. Isn't that enough?" 

"Maybe that's enough for you," she snapped, "but I'm tired of living in this little hut on the sea cliff! Go back and ask the fish if he can give us a nice brick cottage instead." 

The fisherman didn't like the idea of going back and asking the fish for a favor, but he did love his wife, so the next day he paddled his tiny boat far out into the water and called out, "Little fish! I did you a favor by letting you go, will you do a favor for me?" 

The fish swam up to his boat. "What do you need?" asked the fish. 

"My wife is tired of our little hut on the sea cliff. She wants a nice brick cottage instead." said the fisherman. 

"Then when you return home, you will have a cottage." said the fish, and swam away. 

And sure enough, when the fisherman got home he saw that where his little hut once stood there was now a nice brick cottage. 

The fisherman ran up and hugged his wife and they stood outside and admired it. "Are you happy now?" he asked. 

"Yes," she replied. And she was...for a while. But after a week, she began to think that their nice brick cottage was a bit too small. She could do better. 

"We need a castle," she told her husband. "Go back to the fish and ask him for one." 

"Why do we need it? We have each other and we have a roof over our heads. Isn't that enough?" 

"Maybe that's enough for you," she snapped, "but I'm tired of not living in a castle! Go back to the fish and tell him to magic us up one, pronto!" 

The fisherman began to worry he was asking the fish for too much, but he did love his wife, so the next day he paddled his tiny boat far out into the water and called out, "Little fish! I did you a favor by letting you go, will you do yet another favor for me?" 

The fish swam up to his little boat. "What do you need now?" asked the fish. 

"My wife has had to endure not living in a castle for too long. She is tired of our big house on the sea cliff. She wants a gigantic stone castle instead." said the fisherman. 

"Then when you return home, you will have a gigantic stone castle." said the fish, and swam away. And sure enough, when the fisherman got home he saw that where the nice brick cottage stood there was now a stone castle so huge it nearly touched the sky. 

The fisherman ran up and hugged his wife again as they stood outside and admired it. But before he could ask if she was happy, they began to feel the ground rumble. The gigantic stone castle was so heavy that it caused the cliff overlooking the sea to collapse, and it fell down into the sea. 

The wife fell into a deep despair. "We have nothing now! Nothing! I can't go back to that after having tasted the good life." 

"When will you learn that all we need is each other and a simple roof over our heads?" the fisherman asked, picking up the scattered remains of the hut that they had once called home. 

With a little hard work and determination, the fisherman and his wife were able to set it up again, good as new. Returning to their modest little hut at the edge of the cliff, they lived happily for the rest of their lives.