This is the story of a fisherman, his wife ... and a magic fish!
Long, long ago, on the west coast of Scotland, there was a fisherman.
He lived with his wife in a small wooden hut, down by the shore. When it rained, the water came drip, drip, drip through the roof, and when the wind blew, it rattled and shook the windows in their frames. And the hut was very small, but despite all this, the fisherman and his wife had plenty of fish to eat, and they were happy together and with their life in the wooden hut.
One day, the fisherman took his boat out to sea, dropped his net over the side, and waited and waited. When the time was right, he began to haul the net in, but it seemed much heavier than usual.
'This must be a great catch!' he thought. And sure enough, when he hauled the net up and on to the boat, there amongst the sardines, and herring, and mackerel, was a huge fish, the biggest fish that the fisherman had ever seen! Its silver skin gleamed and sparkled in the sunlight, and on its head ... was a golden crown!
'You must let me go,' said the fish, 'Let me free to swim back in the sea, for I am no ordinary fish. I am the king of all the fish. In return for letting me go, I will grant you a wish.'
If you could wish for anything in the world, what would it be?
Well, the fisherman was speechless, he didn’t know what to wish for, but the fish said, ‘You have one day to decide. Come back here tomorrow, and tell me what it is you wish for.'
'But, how will I find you again?' asked the fisherman. ‘You just need to call, 'Fish, fish, King of Fish, please grant my greatest wish” and I will come', answered the fish.
So the fisherman made his way home, and as he walked along the path, he wondered what he could wish for. Maybe a new net? His old one had been repaired many times, but still had holes in it. Or maybe he should wish for a bigger, better fishing boat?
When he got back to the little wooden hut, he told his wife all that had happened.
'Husband!' she cried, clapping her hands with excitement. 'We should ask for something much bigger and better than a new boat. You must ask that fish for somewhere bigger for us to live ... a large cottage, with a flower garden, and a vegetable garden, and hens to give us fresh eggs every morning, and a cockerel to wake us up every day.'
So, the next day the fisherman went back to the shore, and he called out: 'Fish, fish, King of Fish, please grant my greatest wish', and at once the silver fish appeared, wearing a golden crown on its head.
'So, have you decided what to wish for?' asked the fish.
'Yes,' said the fisherman, 'I wish for a large cottage, with a flower garden and a vegetable garden, and hens to lay eggs, and a cockerel to wake us each morning.'
'So be it,' said the fish, 'Your wish is granted.'
And the fisherman found himself beside a beautiful cottage, and there were flowers of every colour, and a vegetable patch with carrots, and potatoes, and cabbages, and there was his wife with a basket, collecting eggs from the hens, and there on the fence was a handsome cockerel crying: 'Cock-a-doodle-doo!'
'This is wonderful!' said the fisherman. 'It's a dream come true.'
And it was wonderful ... for a week or two. But then, there was so much work to do every day. There was the garden to weed and water, and the hens to feed, and the eggs to collect. And the worst thing was that every morning, at four o'clock, the cockerel would cry: 'COCK-A-DOODLE-DOO!' The fisherman and his wife hardly got any sleep at all.
'It's no good,' said the fisherman's wife, 'You'll have to go back and speak to that fish.'
'Speak to the fish?' asked the fisherman.
'Yes,' said his wife, 'You'll have to ask that fish for a different place to live ... a castle with turrets, and battlements, and plenty of space ... and plenty of people to help us clean, and cook, and weed the garden.'
So the next day, the fisherman went back to the shore, and he called out: 'Fish, fish, King of Fish, please grant my greatest wish', and at once the silver fish appeared, with the golden crown on its head.
'What is it?' asked the fish, 'What’s wrong with the cottage?'
'Well, there's nothing exactly wrong with the cottage,' said the fisherman, 'It's just that there's so much work to do every day, and the cockerel is keeping us awake by crying out "Cock-a-doodle-doo!" What we'd really like is to live in a big castle with plenty of people to help us with the cooking, and cleaning, and looking after the garden.'
'Is that what you really wish for?' asked the fish.
'Yes,' said the fisherman, 'That's my greatest wish.'
'So be it,' said the fish, 'Your wish is granted.'
And the fisherman found himself beside a huge castle with turrets and battlements, and when he went inside, there were so many rooms that at first he couldn't find his wife. But, at last, he found her in the dining room, where there was an enormous table, three times the size of their little wooden hut.
On the table there was food of every kind - roast chicken, and platters of vegetables, and fruit, and there were lots of people running around bringing more food and lighting the fires in the room. On the walls were paintings and suits of armour ... it was wonderful!
And the fisherman and his wife were very happy in the castle ... for a week or two. But it was so dark, and damp, and draughty. And there were so many rooms, that they were always getting lost. By the time they found the dining room each evening, the dinner was cold, and by the time they found their way to bed, it was almost time to get up.
'This is no good,' said the fisherman's wife, 'You'll need to go back and speak to that fish. Tell that fish that we need somewhere warm and sunny to live, where it's hot all the time. A Spanish villa, with a swimming pool.'
So, the next day, the fisherman went back to the shore, and called out: 'Fish, fish, King of Fish, please grant my greatest wish', and at once the silver fish appeared, with the golden crown on its head.
'What's wrong with the castle?' asked the fish.
'Well, it's just that it's so cold, and damp and draughty,' said the fisherman. 'What we'd really like is to live somewhere warm and sunny, a Spanish villa with a swimming pool.'
'Are you sure that's what you want?' Asked the fish.
'Yes, that's what I wish for,' said the fisherman.
'So be it,' said the fish, 'Your wish is granted.'
And the fisherman found himself beside a white-washed villa in the south of Spain. The sun was beating down, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. In front of the villa was a beautiful swimming pool, and just over the wall was the sea, sparkling blue in the sunlight. It was wonderful!
And the fisherman and his wife were very happy there ... for a week or two. But it was just so hot all the time - hot, hot, hot every day. The fisherman and his wife were from Scotland, and they weren't used to non-stop sunshine; they began to long for some rain, some drizzle, some mist. It was so hot that they had to stay indoors every day until the cool of the evening.
'This is no good,' said the fisherman's wife. 'It's far too hot, and well, I miss our little wooden hut. It only needed a new roof and some new windows, and maybe some extra space. I'd like to go back home.'
So the next day, the fisherman went down to the sea, and he called out: 'Fish, fish, King of Fish, please grant my greatest wish', and all at once the silver fish appeared, with the golden crown on its head.
'What is it now?' said the fish, rather angrily. 'What's wrong with the villa?'
'Well, it's just that we want to go home, to our little wooden hut,' said the fisherman, 'We were very happy there, and it just needed a new roof and windows, and an extra room.'
'Are you sure that's what you wish for?' asked the fish, 'Because this is your very last wish!'
'Yes,' said the fisherman, 'This is my greatest wish.
'So be it,' said the fish, 'Your wish is granted.'
And the fisherman found himself back in the little wooden hut down by the shore. But now, when it rained, the water no longer came drip, drip, dripping through the roof, and when the wind blew up, it was always warm and cosy inside by the fire. There was a new room, and a shed where the fisherman could keep his nets and fishing tackle.
And do you know ... the fisherman and his wife lived happily ever after.
© Beverley Casebow, adapted from a Grimms' fairy tale and from a version by Harriet Grindley.