Once upon a time, there lived an old fisherman and his wife.
They lived in a modest hut on a small island.
Every day the fisherman went fishing with his net.
Usually he did not catch many fish, but one day his luck changed.
"Oh my!" the fisherman exclaimed as he started to haul in his heavy net.
"I must have caught an enormous fish!"
But when the fisherman looked in the net, he was stunned.
The heavy net was empty, except for one tiny golden fish.
The fisherman peered more closely at the fish.
Suddenly the creature opened its mouth, startling the man.
"Please do not kill me!" the golden fish pleaded.
"Return me to the sea and I will do whatever you wish."
"This is no ordinary fish!" the old man realized.
He took pity on the small creature. "I am content," he said.
"I do not need anything from you. Go back to the sea."
At home the fisherman's wife asked, as she always did, "Did you catch anything today?"
The fisherman shrugged. "Nothing but a small golden fish."
Then the fisherman told his wife about the extraordinary golden fish in his net.
When the man relayed that he had let the golden fish go, his wife's face darkened with fury.
"You fool!" she bellowed. "That was a magic fish! Why did you let it go?
Why did you not wish for something—like bread for us to eat?"
The wife reprimanded her husband all night long.
Finally the fisherman couldn't stand his wife's complaints anymore.
He returned to the sea to look for the magic fish.
"Little fish, little fish," the man called out.
Soon the golden fish swam to the shore. "What do you want, old man?"
"My wife is very angry," the fisherman said.
"She wants me to ask you for something."
"What does she want?" asked the fish.
"She wants bread," replied the man.
"You gave me my life," answered the fish.
"Go home and you will find what your wife wished for." Then it swam away.
When the man returned to his hut, he asked, "Do we have bread now?"
"We have plenty of bread now," his wife informed him.
"But our hut is in disrepair and about to collapse!
Return to the golden fish and demand a fine new cottage!"
"Little fish, little fish," the man called out.
Soon the golden fish swam to the shore. "What do you want, old man?"
"My wife is discontent. Now she wants a fine new cottage," the man answered.
"Go home and you will find what she wished for," said the fish. Then it swam away.
When the man returned home, he was amazed to see that a fine new cottage had replaced his small, modest hut.
Just then, his wife ran toward him.
"Go back to the golden fish!" she demanded.
"And tell the fish I want to be queen of this island!"
Again the fisherman obeyed his wife's command and headed back to the sea.
"Little fish, little fish," he called out.
Soon the golden fish swam to the shore. "What do you want now, old man?"
"My wife wants to be the queen of the island."
"Go home and you will find what she wished for," said the fish. Then it swam away.
When the fisherman arrived home, he stopped in his tracks and stared in amazement.
A magnificent palace, bustling with guards, horses, and servants, had replaced the cottage!
The old man entered the palace. Sitting on a golden throne, dressed in the elegant attire of a queen, was his wife.
"Pardon me, wife?" The man spoke quietly.
"Wife? How dare you address the queen as your wife!" she screamed loudly. "Guards! Take this disgusting man away!"
The guards dragged the fisherman away. While his wife ruled the island, he spent his days sweeping the palace like a servant.
Then one day the queen summoned the fisherman. "You old fool!" she ordered him.
"Go back to that fish and tell him that I no longer want to be queen.
Now I want to be the empress of the sea!"
"What?" The man stared at his greedy wife in disbelief.
"No," he refused, slowly shaking his head.
"You already have more than you need."
"Go to the fish or I will chop your head off!" threatened the queen.
The fisherman was taken back to the sea. "Little fish, little fish."
But this time the golden fish did not appear.
"Little fish, little fish," the man called again.
Still the golden fish did not answer.
The old man called out a third time, "Little fish, little fish."
Suddenly the sky turned dark and the waves in the sea crashed and roared.
At last the golden fish swam up to the shore.
"What do you want, old man?"
The fisherman bent his head low and spoke in a trembling voice.
"My . . . my wife . . . now she . . . wants to be the empress of the sea."
The fish did not say a word.
Instead it simply turned and disappeared into the churning waters.
When the old man returned home, he could not believe his eyes.
The magnificent palace was gone. In its place stood their old modest hut.
The fisherman and his wife returned to their former life.
Every day the fisherman went fishing, as usual.
But he never caught the extraordinary golden fish again.