Fairy Tale Spotlight: The Fisherman and His Wife

How long has it been since we talked about a Grimm story? Hi there! We're back and ready to dive into another classic! "The Fisherman and His Wife" is one of the all time best fairy tales ever written. But I would say it is a bit unknown. I don't hear a lot of people talk about it. It's a bit like a diamond in the rough. It's a wonderful story... but not really a popular one. I guess that's why I am here, right?

"The Fisherman and His Wife" is one of the most intense stories ever told throughout history. It just about causes you to hold your breath depending on the version you have chosen to tackle. The only one I ever read was the Grimm version, but I have looked into the variations from other authors and cultures. The basic story still plays out the same, and it is a doozy. This story is all about things getting horribly out of control.

As crazy as things get... the story opens up with a peaceful setting. The Fisherman and his Wife live in a filthy shack near the sea. Not that they mind this. It seems like they are just simple people who just put up with it. Naturally the Fisherman would occasionally go out to catch fish, and on this particular day, he catches a flounder.

Now this flounder was actually a fairy prince that did not wish to be eaten. He begs for his life and claims that he would not taste very good if eaten. The simple Fisherman agrees with this and did not really want to eat something that could talk anyways. (I agree with him here. I wouldn't be able to do that either. He's a good man, this Fisherman.)

And so he lets the flounder go and goes back to his wife. The Wife asks why has didn't bring back any fish to fry. The farmer explains that the fish was some sort of enchanted prince or something and so he had to let him go. But the Wife seems a bit confused on this point.

"Didn't you ask for anything first?" she asks.

The husband grumbles, "No. What should I have asked for?"

"Have you seen this filthy shack we're living in?! Go back and ask if he can grant us a little cottage. He will surely give it to us!"

"Why should I?" he asks.

"You caught him and let him go. He owes you! Go right now!"

It was clear, in the story, that this fisherman probably just wanted to take a nap or something. Fairy encounters happened all the time in fairy tales. That's why we call them fairy tales. This was probably the third one he met that week, but he made the unfortunate mistake of telling his wife. And so he travels back to the sea--where it was no longer clear, but yellow and green--and calls for the flounder with the following poem:

Mandje! Mandje! Timper Te!
Flounder, founder, in the sea!
My wife, my wife Ilsebill,
Wants not, wants not, what I will.

Following this, the flounder arrives and asks what he wants. The Fisherman tells of his wife's request for a cottage, and the flounder replies, "She already has it."

And, indeed, she did. And it was a lovely place too with a beautiful parlor, bedroom, kitchen, and dining room. This place was way better than the shack. So here the two should live well enough without any need for anything ever again.

Um... Nope.

So... the Fisherman was having a nap on his new fancy couch when his wife comes up and says, "Husband, this cottage is too small. The yard and garden is too little. The flounder really could have given us a bigger house. Go back to the flounder and ask him for a large stone palace."

"Right now?" he asks. "What do we need with a stone palace?"

"JUST GO!"

"I don't want to make the flounder angry by going back so soon!"

"He can do it, and he won't mind doing it! Just go!"

And so he does. Strangely, the sea is changed to purple and dark blue. No longer gray and yellow. And after reciting the same poem as before, the flounder shows up and grants the wish. And it seems that this flounder was a bit extra generous. There was a bit more than just a building here. It was fully equipped with furniture, food, and wine. The problems with the small yard were gone. The Wife had entire courtyards to play with. There were even tame elk and deer prancing about. So obviously this is where the story ends because...

Nope. Not yet.

"Husband," she begins while the Fisherman was trying to sleep in the most comfortable bed ever made for anyone. "Get up and look out the window. Couldn't we be king over all the land?"

"Why would we want to be king?" asks the groggy husband. "I don't want to be king. I just want to sleep... and I have such a nice bed to do it in too. Why don't you get some sleep also."

She continued, "Even if you don't want to be king, I do."

"I don't want to bother the flounder with this."

"Just go do it! I must be king!"

And so, with much grumbles made to himself, the Fisherman revisits the flounder where the water now had a foul odor. And when he returns, his wife is king. And she had so many people serving her now. Soldiers were everywhere, and neither one of them wanted for anything. Also the palace got an upgrade too. Th towers were higher, and everyone in the kingdom served the Wife king with absolute loyalty. So so our story comes to an end.

No, not really.

"I must be emperor!" she said to her husband who was trying to sleep while random people were fanning him.

"What? Seriously?" he asked with one eye open.

"Go to the flounder. I want to be emperor!"

"He can't even do that!" shouted the husband. "At least, I can't tell him to do it. There is only one emperor to the realm. The flounder cannot make you emperor. He cannot do that!"

"What!" shouted the Wife king. "I am king, and you are my husband! Are you going?! If he can make me king, then he can make me emperor! I want to be, and have to be, the emperor! GO THERE IMMEDIATELY!"

And so he just had to go. After all, the king had ordered it. That day the water of the sea seemed to bubble and a nasty wind was blowing. Nevertheless the flounder granted the wish, and the husband returned to find his wife was now emperor. The palace was now even larger and made of polished marble. Alabaster statues of her lined the courtyards. Trumpets blew wherever she went. Everyone in the realm bowed down to her and only her.

There she sat upon a throne made of gold a good two miles high wearing a gold crown that was three yards high set with diamonds and carbuncles. She held a scepter in one hand and in the other the imperial orb. Bodyguards were everywhere, so much so that her husband could barely get to her anymore. She had everything she ever wanted. At least, now she could...

Nope!

"Husband," she began.

"Oh no," he grumbled.

"What are you grumbling about?! I need you to see the flounder again."

"I don't want to."

"Now that I am emperor," she continues, "I want to become pope."

"What do you NOT want?"

"That does not matter right now. I want to become pope. Go there immediately. I must become pope this very day."

Now, as the Fisherman made this next journey to the sea, he felt very sick about the whole thing. His legs buckled constantly. A dark cloud had blown over the world as darkness fell. Leaves fell from the trees, and the sea water boiled up onto the shores. There was a little blue in the middle of the sky, but on all sides it had turned red with lightning flashing through it. Even through all this, the Fisherman called for the flounder and told him of what his wife wished. And so... her wish was granted. The Wife had become pope. She was now the leader of all of Christendom.

Their home was now a church surrounded by palaces. The Fisherman had to force his way through crowds just to get into the building. Everything was illuminated inside by thousands of lights. His wife was clothed in pure gold and sat upon an even bigger throne than before. All the emperors of the world were kissing her feet, and she let them do so. This was it. She could go no higher. This woman owned the world.

The befuddled husband looked at his wife and asked, "Wife, are you pope now?"

And so she replied, "Yes. I am pope."

And he just took a moment to stare at her. It was as if she had become as bright as the sun itself. He soon sighed and remarked, "Wife, it is good that you are pope."

She paused. "Maybe."

"What?"

"Maybe."

"What else is there? You must be satisfied to be pope. There is nothing else greater that you can become."

"I'll have to think about that."

So they went to bed. And the next morning, she was standing before the window looking at the sun as it rose up from the horizon. He watched her carefully before hearing her say, "Could I not cause the sun and the moon to rise?" The Fisherman said nothing. She looked at him and said, "You must go back to the flounder. I wish to be God."

"This needs to stop," he told her plainly. But she became angry. She tore out her hair first, but then the violence was enacted against him. She punched and kicked him violently until he finally agreed to do it.

The Fisherman ran out of the church and towards the sea. The wind was violent as he ran. Houses were blowing over. Trees were flying through the air. The very ground itself was being torn up and throne about. The world was nothing but chaos and death. Yet still he ran up to the sea and called out his poem.

"What does she want?" asked the flounder once he had arrived.

"She wants to become like God!" he called out through all the wind and debris.

"Go home," said the flounder prince. "She is sitting in her filthy shack again."

And so it was. And they are sitting within that shack even to this day.

So I'll leave you with the story itself and let you interpret it your own way. Not that it isn't quite clear what was happening. But I will say this: Of all the Grimm stories I have read, this one was easily the most intense. Hope you enjoyed the experience as well!

Thank you for reading my blog! If you enjoyed it, you can comment below, or you can email me at tkwadeauthor@gmail.com. Also, you can visit my website at www.tkwade.com. Check out my books! Thanks!

Additional: The story in today's blog started off as a synopsis and sort of turned into a mish-mash of the original tale mixed with my own little "enhancements" to make it a bit more fun. The original story is still very fun and intense. Check it out sometime!