Hi everyone! There fable tonight is to be told just when it's bedtime.
And, it can help for calm the childrenby some caprice made.
But it's also good for adults, to remind them that arrogance, presumption and greed are whims that don't bring any good.
Read with me
In the morning, the poor old fisherman leaves the house. He hopes to be able to catch, even today, the few fish that are enough to feed him and his wife. He goes fishing and suddenly the net becomes very heavy: inside there is only a small gold fish. “Let me go, old fisherman! In return, I will magically give you anything you want!”. “I don't want anything, dear little fish”, says the old man, who is humble and good.
“Go ahead” and frees him from the network. When the old fisherman comes back to home, tells everything to his wife: the gold fish left in the net, the promise of magic to make a wish come true. “Go back to the fish, old man,” his wife shouts. “You missed an opportunity! Ask him for a new tub, ours is old and worn out”. The old fisherman goes back to the sea and calls for the golden fish.
“Dear little fish, my wife scolded me.
We have a completely broken tub, it's a wooden bucket now worn out.
Could you get me a new tub? “. “You have been good to me, fisherman.
Don't worry. You will have a new tub.
The old man returns home and discovers that his wife's wish has come true: she has a beautiful new wooden tub!
The goldfish was right.
His wife, however, is not happy: “Old fool! You settle for a wooden basin!
The goldfish is magical, we can have much more! Go back to the sea and ask him for a big new house!”. The fisherman goes back to the sea and calls for the golden fish.
“Dear little fish, my wife won't let me rest.
He wants a new home." “Don't worry, old man. You will get what you want."
The fisherman walks towards the house and does not recognize it: instead of the ramshackle cottage there is a large house with solid white walls. “We can be happy now,” says the fisherman. “Old Stupid”,cries the wife.
"It's not enough for me to have a new house, I want to be very rich". “Go back to the goldfish and ask him for gold coins, jewels, stones and diamonds”. The fisherman is sad.
His wife always asks for more and is never happy. With downcast eyes, go back to the sea and call for the goldfish.
The Magic of the Goldfish
“Little fish, my wife can't be happy…she always complains, she wants gold coins, jewels, stones and diamonds”. The goldfish makes a funny face, then a smile.
“Okay, old man. He goes home and don't worry about it ”.
At home, the fisherman finds the magic has come true once again.
His wife is well dressed, has a pearl necklace around her neck, precious rings on her fingers, is seated in front of a lavish table and has a trunk of gold coins nearby.
The old woman, however, is not happy and is increasingly capricious. "I'm not happy, old man!" “I want to become empress! Run to the fish." The old fisherman tries to answer. "We can be happy now." “Go to the magic fish or I'll have my servants take you away!”, commands the woman. The fisherman goes back to the sea and calls for the little fish.
He is ashamed, but asks:
"Goldfish, my wife sends me to ask you to be empress." The goldfish no longer smiles. “Go home, old man,” he says to the fisherman.
The fisherman returns home: the magic has taken place, but his wife is increasingly insolent. “I want to be the goddess of the sea!” she shouts at husband. The fisherman returns to the golden fish.
“My wife wants to be the goddess of the sea,” he says. The little fish looks at him for a moment, then is silent and runs away.
The old fisherman walks home.
The big new house, however, has disappeared: the coins gold, jewels, the tub new.
His old ramshackle cottage has returned and his wife has the worn out clothes of a time. “We could have been happy,” says the old man wife.
Conclusion
To me, this fable brings to mind an ancient saying: those who want too much, squeeze nothing.
