It is important to teach kids the moral value of being satisfied with the things one has. The Fisherman And His Wife story in English is an ideal story to teach kids this important moral value. This tale is of the fisherman and his wife, who asked for the impossible from her husband. Her husband, for her happiness, keeps obeying till everything is taken away from them.
Continue to read the Fisherman and fish full story.
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Origin and History Of The Fisherman and Fish
This story is a German tale collected by the Brothers Grimm in 1812.
Story Type Of The Fisherman and Fish
This is a moral story that can be read to kids as a bedtime story.
Story Characters
- Fisherman
- Fisherman’s Wife
- The Fish
The Fisherman and Fish Story for Children
Once upon a time, a fisherman used to live with his wife in a pigsty near the seaside. One day, the fisherman sat on the shore with his rod, looking at the sparkling waves and watching his line. He was suddenly dragged away deep into the water and pulled out a great fish. But the fish said, ‘Let me live! I am not a real fish. I am an enchanted prince. Please leave me in the water again!’ ‘Oh, ho!’ said the fisherman, ‘I will have nothing to do with a fish that talks. Swim away, please!’ The fisherman put the fish back into the water. The fish went straight down to the bottom, leaving a long streak of blood behind him.
The fisherman went home to his wife and told her that he had caught a great fish and that it was an enchanted Prince. He also told her that he had to let it go on hearing him speak.
‘Did you not ask for anything? We live in such a nasty dirty pigsty. Go back and tell the fish we want a small cottage,’ said the wife.
The fisherman went to the seashore. The water looked yellow and green. The fisherman stood there and said loudly:
‘O man of the sea! Hearken to me! My wife has her own will and hath sent me to beg a boon of thee!’
The fish came and said, ‘Well, what is her will? What does she want?’
‘Ah!’ said the fisherman, ‘my wife does not like living in the pigsty and wants a snug little cottage.’
‘Go home. Your wife is in the cottage already,’ said the fish.
The fisherman returned home and saw his wife standing at the door of a little cottage.
‘Come in!’ said the wife; ‘is this cottage not better than the pigsty we had?’ There was a parlour, a bedchamber, a kitchen, and a little garden, planted with flowers and fruits.
‘We will love happily now!’ said the fisherman.
After a week, the wife said to the fisherman, ‘The cottage is too small for us. The courtyard and the garden too. I want a large stone castle to live in. So, go to the fish again and ask for a castle.’
‘I don’t like to go to the fish again. He will be angry.’
‘Nonsense!’ said the wife ‘the fish do it very willingly.’
The fisherman went with a heavy heart. The sea looked blue and gloomy but calm.
‘O man of the sea! Hearken to me! My wife has her own will and hath sent me to beg a boon of thee!’ said the fisherman.
‘What she wants now?’ asked d the fish.
‘She wants to live in a big stone castle.’
‘Go home. She is already standing at that.’
The fisherman went home and found her standing before the gate of a great castle.
‘This is grand,’ said the wife.
There were many servants and rooms in the castle. The furniture was all gold.
‘We will live happily in this beautiful castle for the rest of our lives,’ said the fisherman.
The following day, the wife said to the fisherman, ‘we must be king of all the land.’
‘I don’t want to be a king.’
‘Then I will,’ said the wife.
‘But the fish cannot make you a king?’
‘Say no more. Go and ask the fish,’ said the wife.
The fisherman went again. The sea looked dark grey.
‘O man of the sea! Hearken to me! My wife has her own will and hath sent me to beg a boon of thee!’
‘What she wants now?’
‘My wife wants to be king.’
‘Go home. She is king already,’ said the fish.
Then the fisherman went home, saw a troop of soldiers, and heard the sound of drums and trumpets. His wife was sitting on a throne of gold and diamonds, with a golden crown on her head.
‘You are the king now!’ said the fisherman.
‘Yes, I’m king.’
‘Now, we shall never have anything else to wish for as long as we live.’
‘I am king, it is true, but I’m tired of that, and I think I should like to be emperor.’ said the wife, ‘Go and ask the fish.’
‘The fish cannot make an emperor, I’m sure.’
‘I am king, and you are my slave. So, go at once!’
He came to the seashore. The water was black and muddy, and a mighty whirlwind blew over the waves and rolled them.
‘O man of the sea! Hearken to me! My wife has her own will and hath sent me to beg a boon of thee!’
‘What she wants now?’ asked the fish.
‘She wants to be an emperor.’
‘Go home. She is emperor already.’
He went home again and saw his wife sitting on a very lofty throne made of gold, with a crown on her head.
‘You are an emperor now. What a fine thing!’
‘I want to be a Pope, now. Go and ask the fish.’
So, the fisherman went and saw the sea tossing up and down in boiling waves, and the ships were in trouble.
‘O man of the sea! Hearken to me! My wife has her own will and hath sent me to beg a boon of thee!’
‘What she wants now?’
‘She wants to be a Pope.’
‘Go home. She is Pope already.’ said the fish.
Then the fisherman went home and found her wife sitting on a throne that was two miles high. She had three crowns on her head, and around her were all the pomp and power of the Church.
‘You are Pope now.’ said the fisherman.
They went to bed, and the wife could not sleep all night. She thought about what she should be next. When she was about to fall asleep, the morning broke, and the sun rose.
She woke up her husband and said, ‘go to the fish and tell him I wish to be lord of the moon and sun.’
The fisherman went shivering with fear. While going down to the shore, a dreadful storm. The sky became black with stormy clouds. The fisherman crept towards the sea and said,
‘O man of the sea! Hearken to me! My wife has her own will and hath sent me to beg a boon of thee!’
‘What she wants now?’
‘She wishes to be lord of the sun and moon.’
‘Go home to your pigsty,’ said the fish.
And there they live to this very day.
Story Summary
A fisherman and his wife used to live in a pigsty. One day the fisherman caught a fish who turned out to be an enchanted prince. He released the fish and went home to the pigsty. When his wife heard about the adventure, she was angry. She ordered her husband to return to the fish and ask him for a cottage to replace the pigsty. Her wish was granted. She was content for a little while. But then she decided the cottage was too small and wanted a castle. Her wish was granted again. But the wife still wasn’t content and kept asking for more. The fish kept granting her wishes. But when the fish learned what the fisherman’s wife wanted the next time, he took everything back and left them nothing but a pigsty. And they live in that pigsty for the rest of their lives.
Moral Of The Story
The moral of the story is that ‘we should always be satisfied with what we have.’
How Can Children Apply The Moral Of The Story In Their Real Life?
The children can apply the moral of this story with pictures in their real life by being happy and content with the things they already have. This short story will also teach kids that they should not be greedy about things in life.
Also Read:
The Story Of The Deceitful Bird with Moral for Children
Little Red Riding Hood Moral Story for Kids
Moral Story Of The Dog And The Rabbit for Children
