The Story of the Fisherman

Sire, there was once upon a time a fisherman so old and so poor that he could scarcely manage to support his wife and three children. He went every day to fish very early, and each day he made a rule not to throw his nets more than four times. He started out one morning by moonlight and came to the sea-shore. He undressed and threw his nets, and as he was drawing them towards the bank he felt a great weight. He thought he had caughtHe though he had caught a large fish, and he felt very pleased. But a moment afterwards, he was bitterly disappointed to find only a dead donkey in his nets instead of a fishseeing that instead of a fish he only had in his nets the carcase of an ass, he was much disappointed.

Annoyed by such a poor catch, he mended the nets, which the donkey’s body had torn in several places. Then he cast them a second time.Vexed with having such a bad haul, when he had mended his nets, which the carcase of the ass had broken in several places, he threw them a second time. In drawing them in he again felt a great weight, so that he thought they were full of fish. But he only found a large basket full of rubbish. He was much annoyed.

"O Fortune," he cried, "do not play these tricks on medo not trifle thus with me, a poor fisherman, who can hardly support his family!"

So saying, he threw away the rubbish, and after having washed his nets clean of the dirt, he threw them for the third time. But he only drew in stones, shells, and mud. He was almost in despair.

Then he threw his nets for the fourth time. When he thought he had a fish he drew them in with a great deal of trouble. There was no fish, but he found a yellow pot. It was so heavy that it seemed full of something. He noticed that it was closed with a lead seal bearing a stamped mark.There was no fish however, but he found a yellow pot, which by its weight seemed full of something, and he noticed that it was fastened and sealed with lead, with the impression of a seal. He was delighted. "I will sell it to the metalworkerthe founder," he said; "with the money I shall get for it I shall buy a measure of wheat."

He examined the jar on all sides; he shook it to see if it would rattle. But he heard nothing, and so, judging from the impression of the seal and the lid, he thought there must be something precious inside. To find out, he took his knife, and with a little trouble he opened it. He turned it upside down, but nothing came out, which surprised him very much. He set it in front of him, and while he was looking at it closelywhilst he was looking at it attentively, such a thick smoke came out that he had to step back a pace or two. The smoke rose to the clouds and spread over the sea and shore, forming a thick mist. The fisherman was astonished.This smoke rose up to the clouds, and stretching over the sea and the shore, formed a thick mist, which caused the fisherman much astonishment. When all the smoke was out of the jar it gathered itself together, and became a thick mass in which appeared a genie, twicea genius, twice as large as the largest giant. When he saw such a terrible-looking monster, the fisherman would like to have run away, but he trembled so with fright that he could not move a step.

"Great king of the geniesking of the genii," cried the monster, "I will never again disobey you!"

At these words the fisherman took courage.

"What is this you are saying, great geniegreat genius? Tell me your storyyour history and how you came to be shut up in that vase."

At this, the genie lookedthe genius looked at the fisherman haughtily. "Speak to me more politelymore civilly," he said, "before I kill you."

"Alas! why should you kill me?" cried the fisherman. "I have just freed you; have you already forgotten that?"

"No," answered the geniethe genius; "but that will not prevent me from killing you. but that will not prevent me from killing you; I will grant you only one favour: you may choose how you dieand I am only going to grant you one favour, and that is to choose the manner of your death."

"But what have I done to you?" asked the fisherman.

"I cannot treat you in any other way," said the geniethe genius, "and if you would know why, listen to my story.

"I rebelled against the king of the geniesthe king of the genii. To punish me, he shut me up in this copper vase. this vase of copper, He stamped his seal on the lead cover. Its magic was enough to keep me from escapingand he put on the leaden cover his seal, which is enchantment enough to prevent my coming out. Then he had the vase thrown into the sea. During the first period of my captivity I vowed that if anyone should free me before a hundred years were passed, I would make him rich even after his death. But that century passed, and no one freed me. In the second century I vowed that I would give all the treasures in the world to whoever freed memy deliverer; but he never came.

"In the third, I promised to make him a king, to be always near him, and to grant him three wishes every day; but that century passed away as the other two had done, and I remained trapped just as beforeI remained in the same plight. At last I grew angry at being captive for so long, and I vowed that if anyone would release me I would kill him at once, and would only let him choose how to diewould only allow him to choose in what manner he should die. So you see, as you have freed me todayto-day, choose in what way you will die."

The fisherman was very unhappy. "What an unlucky man I am to have freed you! I implore you to spare my life."

"I have told you," said the geniethe genius, "that it is impossible. Choose quickly; you are wasting time."

The fisherman began to devise a plot.

"Since I must die," he said, "before I choose the manner of my death, I ask you on your honour to tell meI conjure you on your honour to tell me if you really were in that vase?"

"Yes, I was," answered the geniethe genius.

"I really cannot believe it," said the fisherman. "That vase could not hold even one of your feet. How could your whole body fit inside?That vase could not contain one of your feet even, and how could your whole body go in? I cannot believe it unless I see you do the thing."

Then the genie began to turn into smoke. As before, it spread over the sea and shore. It then gathered together and flowed slowly and steadily back into the vase until none was left outside.Then the genius began to change himself into smoke, which, as before, spread over the sea and the shore, and which, then collecting itself together, began to go back into the vase slowly and evenly till there was nothing left outside. Then a voice came from the vase which said to the fisherman, "Well, unbelieving fisherman, here I am in the vase; do you believe me now?"

The fisherman instead of answering took the lid of lead and shut it down quickly on the vase.

"Now, O genieNow, O genius," he cried, "ask my forgiveness, and choose how you will dieask pardon of me, and choose by what death you will die! But no, it will be better if I throw you into the sea I pulled you from. I will build a house on the shore to warn fishermen who cast their nets here. They must not pull up a wicked genie like you, who vows to kill the man who frees him.the sea whence I drew you out, and I will build a house on the shore to warn fishermen who come to cast their nets here, against fishing up such a wicked genius as you are, who vows to kill the man who frees you."

At these words the geniethe genius did all he could to get out, but he could not, because of the enchantment of the lid.

Then he tried to get out by cunning.

"If you will take off the cover," he said, "I will repay you."

"No," answered the fisherman, "if I trust myself to you I am afraid you will treat me as a certain Greek king treated the physician Douban. Listen, and I will tell you."