The Fisherman and His Wife

1812 Germany

Story

Once upon a time, a poor fisherman and his wife lived in a little hut by the sea. One day, the fisherman caught a large flounder in his net. To his amazement, the fish spoke!

"Please let me go!" cried the flounder. "I am not really a fish. I am an enchanted prince!" The kind fisherman quickly let the fish go and went home to tell his wife.

"You caught a magic fish and didn't ask for anything?" his wife exclaimed. "Go back and ask for a nice cottage instead of this miserable hut!" The fisherman didn't want to bother the fish, but his wife insisted.

The fisherman went to the shore and called:
"Flounder, flounder in the sea,
Come, I pray, and talk to me.
My wife has sent me here to say
She has a wish for you today."

The flounder appeared and granted the wish. When the fisherman returned home, his wife was sitting in a lovely cottage with a garden full of flowers. But she wasn't satisfied for long.

"Go back and ask for a stone castle!" she demanded. And so the fisherman did. Each time he returned to the sea, the water grew darker and the waves higher, but the fish granted his wife's wishes. A castle wasn't enough—she wanted to be king. Then emperor. Then pope!

Each time, the sea grew stormier, but still the magic fish granted her wishes. Finally, full of pride, the wife said, "I want to be like God himself, commanding the sun and the moon to rise!"

The fisherman, pale and trembling, went once more to the now-terrifying sea. The flounder appeared in the churning waves. "Go home," it said sadly. "Your wife has wished for too much."

When the fisherman returned, everything was gone. His wife sat in their old hut, just as they had begun. Their greed had cost them everything, and there they remained for the rest of their days.

History and Meaning

"The Fisherman and His Wife" was collected by the Brothers Grimm and published in 1812. The tale was originally told in Low German dialect and features a rhythmic spell that makes it perfect for reading aloud.

The story is a powerful cautionary tale about greed and the dangers of never being satisfied. Each of the wife's wishes is granted, but nothing is ever enough for her. Her discontent grows even as her power increases.

The changing sea reflects the moral state of the requests. Clear and calm for modest wishes, it grows stormy and dark as the demands become more outrageous, showing how excessive greed disturbs the natural order.

The tale teaches gratitude and contentment. The fisherman himself is satisfied with their cottage and asks for nothing on his own account. His wife's endless wanting leads to losing everything—a reminder that appreciating what we have is more important than always wanting more.