{"collection":"Northern European Mythology","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/browse/neu/grimm/ht09a.htm","path":"neu/grimm/ht09a.htm","source_url":"https://sacred-texts.com/neu/grimm/ht09a.htm","text":"The Fisherman And His Wife[1]\n[1: According to the late William Howitt, this story was communicated\nto the Brothers Grimm by Mr. Henry Crabbe Robinson, who had it from an old\nwoman. See \"Diary of H. C. Robinson.\" - Tr.]\nThere was once upon a time a Fisherman who lived with his wife in a\nmiserable hovel close by the sea, and every day he went out fishing. And once\nas he was sitting with his rod, looking at the clear water, his line suddenly\nwent down, far down below, and when he drew it up again, he brought out a\nlarge Flounder. Then the Flounder said to him, \"Hark, you Fisherman, I pray\nyou, let me live, I am no Flounder really, but an enchanted prince. What good\nwill it do you kill me? I should not be good to eat, put me in the water\nagain, and let me go.\" \"Come,\" said the Fisherman, \"there is no need for so\nmany words about it - a fish that can talk I should certainly let go, anyhow,\"\nwith that he put him back again into the clear water, and the Flounder went to\nthe bottom, leaving a long streak of blood behind him. Then the Fisherman got\nup and went home to his wife in the hovel.\n\"Husband,\" said the woman, \"have you caught nothing to-day?\" \"No,\" said\nthe man, \"I did catch a Flounder, who said he was an enchanted prince, so I\nlet him go again.\" \"Did you not wish for anything first.\" said the woman.\n\"No,\" said the man; \"what should I wish for?\" \"Ah,\" said the woman, \"it is\nsurely hard to have to live always in this dirty hovel; you might have wished\nfor a small cottage for us. Go back and call him. Tell him we want to have a\nsmall cottage, he will certainly give us that.\" \"Ah,\" said the man, \"why\nshould I go there again?\" \"Why,\" said the woman, \"you did catch him, and you\nlet him go again; he is sure to do it. Go at once.\" The man still did not\nquite like to go, but did not like to oppose his wife, and went to the sea.\nWhen he got there the sea was all green and yellow, and no longer so\nsmooth; so he stood and said,\n\"Flounder, flounder in the sea,\nCome, I pray thee, here to me;\nFor my wife, good Ilsabil,[2]\nWills not as I'd have her will.\"\n[2.: Isabel. - Tr.]\nThen the Flounder came swimming to him and said, \"Well, what does she\nwant, then?\" \"Ah,\" said the man, \"I did catch you, and my wife says I really\nought to have wished for something. She does not like to live in a wretched\nhovel any longer; she would like to have a cottage.\" \"Go, then,\" said the\nFlounder, \"she has it already.\"\nWhen the man went home, his wife was no longer in the hovel, but instead\nof it there stood a small cottage, and she was sitting on a bench before the\ndoor. Then she took him by the hand and said to him. \"Just come inside, look,\nnow isn't this a great deal better?\" So they went in, and there was a small\nporch, and a pretty little parlour and bed-room, and a kitchen and pantry,\nwith the best of furniture, and fitted up with the most beautiful things made\nof tin and brass, whatsoever was wanted. And behind the cottage there was a\nsmall yard, with hens and ducks, and little garden with flowers and fruit.\n\"Look,\" said the wife, \"is not that nice!\" \"Yes,\" said the husband, \"and so we\nmust always think it, - now we will live quite contended.\" \"We will think\nabout that,\" said the wife. With that they ate something and went to bed.\nEverything went well for a week or a fortnight, and then the woman said,\n\"Hark you, husband, this cottage is far too small for us, and the garden and\nyard are little; the Flounder might just as well have given us a larger house.\nI should like to live in a great stone castle; go to the Flounder, and tell\nhim to give us a castle.\" \"Ah, wife,\" said the man, \"the cottage is quite good\nenough; why should we live in a castle?\" \"What!\" said the woman; \"just go\nthere, the Flounder can always do that.\" \"No, wife,\" said the man, \"the\nFlounder has just given us the cottage, I do not like to go back so soon, it\nmight make him angry.\" \"Go,\" said the woman, \"he can do it quite easily, and\nwill be glad to do it; just you go to him.\"\nThe man's heart grew heavy, and he would not go. He said to himself, \"It\nis not right,\" and yet he went. And when he came to the sea the water was\nquite purple and dark-blue, and grey and thick, and no longer so green and\nyellow, but it was still quiet. And he stood there and said -\n\"Flounder, flounder in the sea,\nCome, I pray thee, here to me;\nFor my wife, good Ilsabil,\nWills not as I'd have her will.\"\n\"Well, what does she want, then?\" said the Flounder. \"Alas,\" said the\nman, half scared, \"she wants to live in a great stone castle.\" \"Go to it,\nthen, she is standing before the door,\" said the Flounder.\nThen the man went away, intending to go home, but when he got there, he\nfound a great stone palace, and his wife was just standing on the steps going\nin, and she took him by the hand and said, \"Come in.\" So he went in with her,\nand in the castle was a great hall paved with marble, and many servants, who\nflung wide the doors; and the walls were all bright with beautiful hangings,\nand in the rooms were chairs and tables of pure gold, and crystal chandeliers\nhung from the ceilings, and all the rooms and bed-rooms had carpets, and\nfood and wine of the very best were standing on all the tables so that they\nnearly broke down beneath it. Behind the house, too, there was a great court\nyard, with stables for horses and cows, and the very best of carriages; there\nwas a magnificent large garden, too, with the most beautiful flowers and fruit\n- trees, and a park quite half a mile long, in which were stags, deer, and\nhares, and everything that could be desired. \"Come,\" said the woman, \"isn't\nthat beautiful?\" \"Yes, indeed,\" said the man, \"now let it be; and we will live\nin this beautiful castle and be content.\" \"We will consider about that,\" said\nthe woman, \"and sleep upon it\"; thereupon they went to bed.\nNext morning the wife awoke first, and it was just daybreak, and from her\nbed she saw the beautiful country lying before her. Her husband was still\nstretching himself, so she poked him in the side with her elbow, and said,\n\"Get up, husband, and just peep out of the window. Look you, couldn't we be\nthe King over all that land.? Go to the Flounder, we will be the King.\" \"Ah,\nwife,\" said the man, \"why should we be King\" I do not want to be King.\"\n\"Well,\" said the wife, \"if you won't be King, I will; go to the Flounder, for\nI will be King.\" \"Ah, wife,\" said the man, \"why do you want to be King? I do\nnot like to say that to him.\" \"Why not?\" said the woman; \"go to him this\ninstant; I must be King!\" So the man went, and was quite unhappy because his\nwife wished to be King. \"It is not right; it is not right,\" though the. He did\nnot wish to go, but yet he went.\nAnd when he came to the sea, it was quite dark-grey, and the water\nheaved up from below, and smelt putrid. Then he went and stood by it, and\nsaid,\n\"Flounder, flounder in the sea,\nCome, I pray thee, here to me;\nFor my wife, good Ilsabil,\nWills not as I'd have her will.\"\n\"Well, what does she want, then?\" said the Flounder. \"Alas!\" said the\nman, \"she wants to be King.\" \"Go to her; she is King already.\"\nSo the man went, and when he came to the palace, the castle had become\nmuch larger, and had a great tower and magnificent ornaments, and the sentinel\nwas standing before the door, and there were numbers of soldiers with kettle -\ndrums and trumpets. And when he went inside the house, everything was of real\nmarble and gold, with velvet covers and great golden tassels. Then the doors\nof the hall were opened, and there was the court in all its splendour, and his\nwife was sitting on a high throne of gold and diamonds, with a great crown of\ngold on her head, and a sceptre of pure gold and jewels in her hand, and on\nboth sides of her stood her maids-in-waiting in a row, each of them always\none head shorter than the last.\nThen he went and stood before her, and said, \"Ah, wife, and now you are\nKing.\" \"Yes,\" said the woman, \"now I am King.\" So he stood and looked at her,\nand when he had looked at her thus for some time, he said, \"And now that you\nare King, let all else be, now we will wish for nothing more.\" \"Nay, husband,\"\nsaid the woman, quite anxiously, \"I find time pass very heavily, I can bear it\nno longer; go to the Flounder - I am King, but I must be Emperor, too.\" \"Alas,\nwife, why do you wish to be Emperor?\" \"Husband,\" said she, \"go to the\nFlounder. I will be Emperor.\" \"Alas, wife,\" said the man, \"he cannot make you\nEmperor: I may not say that to the fish. There is only one Emperor in the\nland. An Emperor the Flounder cannot make you! I assure you he cannot.\"\n\"What!\" said the woman, \"I am the King, and you are nothing but my\nhusband; will you go this moment? go at once! If he can make a king he can\nmake an emperor. I will be Emperor; go instantly.\" So he was forced to go. As\nthe man went, however, he was troubled in mind, and thought to himself, \"It\nwill not end well; it will not end well! Emperor is too shameless! The\nFlounder will at last be tired out.\"\nWith that he reached the sea, and the sea was quite black and thick, and\nbegan to boil up from below, so that it threw up bubbles, and such a sharp\nwind blew over it that it curled, and the man was afraid. Then he went and\nstood by it, and said,\n\"Flounder, flounder in the sea,\nCome, I pray thee, here to me;\nFor my wife, good Ilsabil,\nWills not as I'd have her will.\"\n\"Well, what does she want, then?\" said the Flounder. \"Alas, Flounder,\"\nsaid he, \"my wife wants to be Emperor.\" \"Go to her,\" said the Flounder; \"she\nis Emperor already.\"\nSo the man went, and when he got there the whole palace was made of\npolished marble with alabaster figures and golden ornaments, and soldiers were\nmarching before the door blowing trumpets, and beating cymbals and drums; and\nin the house, barons, and counts, and dukes were going about as servants. Then\nthey opened the doors to him, which were of pure gold. And when he entered,\nthere sat his wife on a throne, which was made of one piece of gold, and was\nquite two miles high; and she wore a great golden crown that was three yards\nhigh, and set with diamonds and carbuncles, and in one hand she had the\nsceptre, and in the other the imperial orb; and on both sides of her stood the\nyeomen of the guard in two rows, each being smaller than the one before him,\nfrom the biggest giant, who was two miles high, to the very smallest dwarf,\njust as big as my little finger. And before it stood a number of princes and\ndukes.\nThen the man went and stood among them, and said, \"Wife, are you Emperor\nnow?\" \"Yes,\" said she, \"now I am Emperor.\" Then he stood and looked at her\nwell, and when he had looked at her thus for some time, he said, \"Ah, wife, be\ncontent, now that you are Emperor.\" \"Husband,\" said she, \"why are you standing\nthere? Now, I am Emperor, but I will be Pope too; go to the Flounder.\" \"Alas,\nwife,\" said the man, \"what will you not wish for? You cannot be Pope; there is\nbut one in Christendom; he cannot make you Pope.\" \"Husband,\" said she, \"I will\nbe Pope; go immediately, I must be Pope this very day.\" \"No, wife,\" said the\nman, \"I do not like to say that to him; that would not do, it is too much; the\nFlounder can't make you Pope.\" \"Husband,\" said she, \"what nonsense! if he can\nmake an emperor he can make a pope. Go to him directly. I am Emperor, 2nd you\nare nothing but my husband; will you go at once?\"\nThen he was afraid and went; but he was quite faint, and shivered and\nshook, and his knees and legs trembled. And a high wind blew over the land,\nand the clouds flew, and towards evening all grew dark, and the leaves fell\nfrom the trees, and the water rose and roared as if it were boiling, and\nsplashed upon the shore; and in the distance he saw ships which were firing\nguns in their sore need, pitching and tossing on the waves. And yet in the\nmidst of the sky there was still a small bit of blue, though on every side it\nwas as red as in a heavy storm. So, full of despair, he went and stood in much\nfear and said,\n\"Flounder, flounder in the sea,\nCome, I pray thee, here to me;\nFor my wife, good Ilsabil,\nWills not as I'd have her will.\"\n\"Well, what does she want, then?\" said the Flounder. \"Alas,\" said the\nman, \"she wants to be Pope.\" \"Go to her then,\" said the Flounder; \"she is Pope\nalready.\"\nSo he went, and when he got there, he saw what seemed to be a large\nchurch surrounded by palaces. He pushed his way through the crowd. Inside,\nhowever, everything was lighted up with thousands and thousands of candles,\nand his wife was clad in gold, and she was sitting on a much higher throne,\nand had three great golden crowns on, and round about her there was much\necclesiastical splendour; and on both sides of her was a row of candles the\nlargest of which was as tall as the very tallest tower, down to the very\nsmallest kitchen candle, and all the emperors and kings were on their knees\nbefore her, kissing her shoe. \"Wife,\" said the man, and looked attentively at\nher, \"are you now Pope?\" \"Yes,\" said she, \"I am Pope.\" So he stood and looked\nat her, and it was just as if he was looking at the bright sun. When he had\nstood looking at her thus for a short time, he said, \"Ah, wife, if you are\nPope, do let well alone!\" But she looked as stiff as a post, and did not move\nor show any signs of life. Then said he, \"Wife, now that you are Pope, be\nsatisfied, you cannot become anything greater now.\" \"I will consider about\nthat,\" said the woman. Thereupon they both went to bed, but she was not\nsatisfied, and greediness let her have no sleep, for she was continually\nthinking what there was left for her to be.\nThe man slept well and soundly, for he had run about a great deal during\nthe day; but the woman could not fall asleep at all, and flung herself from\none side to the other the whole night through, thinking always what more was\nleft for her to be, but unable to call to mind anything else. At length the\nsun began to rise, and when the woman saw the red of dawn, she sat up in bed\nand looked at it. And when, through the window, she saw the sun thus rising,\nshe said, \"Cannot I, too, order the sun and moon to rise?\" \"Husband,\" said\nshe, poking him in the ribs with her elbows, \"wake up! go to the Flounder, for\nI wish to be even as God is.\" The man was still half asleep, but he was so\nhorrified that he fell out of bed. He thought he must have heard amiss, and\nrubbed his eyes, and said, \"Alas, wife, what are you saying?\" \"Husband,\" said\nshe, \"if I can't order the sun and moon to rise, and have to look on and see\nthe sun and moon rising, I can't bear it. I shall not know what it is to have\nanother happy hour, unless I can make them rise myself.\" Then she looked at\nhim so terribly that a shudder ran over him, and said, \"Go at once; I wish to\nbe like unto God.\" \"Alas, wife,\" said the man, falling on his knees before\nher, \"the Flounder cannot do that; he can make an emperor and a pope; I\nbeseech you, go on as you are, and be Pope.\" Then she fell into a rage, and\nher hair flew wildly about her head, and she cried, \"I will not endure this,\nI'll not bear it any longer; wilt thou go?\" Then he put on his trousers and\nran away like a madman. But outside a great storm was raging, and blowing so\nhard that he could scarcely keep his feet; houses and trees toppled over, the\nmountains trembled, rocks rolled into the sea, the sky was pitch black, and it\nthundered and lightened, and the sea came in with black waves as high as\nchurch-towers and mountains, and all with crests of white foam at the top.\nThen he cried, but could not hear his own words,\n\"Flounder, flounder in the sea,\nCome, I pray thee, here to me;\nFor my wife, good Ilsabil,\nWills not as I'd have her will.\"\n\"Well, what does she want, then?\" said the Flounder. \"Alas,\" said he,\n\"she wants to be like unto God.\" \"Go to her, and you will find her back again\nin the dirty hovel.\" And there they are living still at this very time.","title":"The Fisherman And His Wife","type":"page"}