There was once a fisherman who lived with his wife in a pigsty, closeby the seaside. The fisherman used to go out all day long a-fishing; andone day, as he sat on the shore with his rod, looking at the sparklingwaves and watching his line, all on a sudden his float was draggedaway deep into the water: and in drawing it up he pulled out a greatfish. But the fish said, «Pray let me live! I am not a real fish; Iam an enchanted prince: put me in the water again, and let me go!» «Oh,ho!» said the man, «you need not make so many words about the matter; Iwill have nothing to do with a fish that can talk: so swim away, sir,as soon as you please!» Then he put him back into the water, and thefish darted straight down to the bottom, and left a long streak ofblood behind him on the wave.
When the fisherman went home to his wife in the pigsty, he told her howhe had caught a great fish, and how it had told him it was anenchanted prince, and how, on hearing it speak, he had let it go again.«Did not you ask it for anything?» said the wife, «we live verywretchedly here, in this nasty dirty pigsty; do go back and tell thefish we want a snug little cottage.»
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