The Magic Fish

 

Vocabulary

gold	fantastic	catch/caught/caught
whole	cast (3)	find/found/found
drag	net (2)	go on (2)
wish	empress	one last time
lucky	order	think/thought/thought (2)
pull	as usual	seashore
stew	supper	suddenly
grant	heavy	begin/began/begun
desire	startle	blow/blew/blown
idiot	release	empty-handed
fool	empty	feel/felt/felt
magic	call out	appear (2)
stove	delicious	following morning
need	gather	discussion
king	queen	command
cloud	servant	attendant
land	knight	this time
rough	request	certainly
toss	wave (2)	after a while
turn	thunder	lightening
clear	wind (2)	ferociously
storm	castle

 
 

The Fisherman and his Wife

There once was a fisherman. He lived with his wife in a little, old house not far from the sea.

Everyday the fisherman would go to the seashore to catch fish and sell them at the town market.

Cast His Net

One morning he went to the shore as usual. He cast his net into the water. When he dragged the net back, he found nothing.

This went on for the whole day.

“Today isn’t my lucky day,” the fisherman thought. “We won’t have anything to eat tonight.”

One Last Time

He decided to throw his net one last time before returning home.
 
 

 
 
This time however, he felt something heavy…and pulled in a big, gold-colored fish.

“Fantastic! Now we’ll have fish stew for supper!”

Startled

But suddenly the fish began speaking to the fisherman.

“Please return me to the sea,” it said. “If you do, I will grant you any wish you desire.”

The fisherman was startled.

But he simply released the fish back into the sea, and went back home empty-handed.

Back Home

When arrived, he told his wife what had happened.

“You fool! You idiot! she shouted. “Why didn’t you make a wish?!?”

The wife then ordered the fisherman to go back to the sea and ask the fish for a nice, hot dinner.

Return to the Sea

And so he returned to the sea and called out to the magic fish. It appeared before him.
“Oh magic fish, could you grant me a wish?” he asked.
“Certainly,” replied the fish.
“I was wondering if you could give us a nice, hot dinner.”
“No problem.”

Dinner

When the fisherman returned home, he found a nice, hot meal on the table.

He and his wife ate it.

It was delicious!

The following morning, the wife had a discussion with her husband.
“Our stove is too old; we need a new one,” she said. “Go and ask the magic fish to give us a new stove.”

The Request

And so the fisherman went to the seaside and called out to the magic fish. Once again it appeared before him.
“Magic Fish, I was wondering if you could grant my wife a new stove.”
“It is done,” it replied.

He returned home to find a beautiful, new stove in the kitchen.

Next Morning

The next morning his wife said: “This house is too small. Go to the magic fish and tell him I want to live in a castle — and be a queen!”

The fisherman thus went back to the sea and told the magic fish what his wife wanted.

The Change

When he returned, he found a huge castle in place of his little, old house. His wife was a queen with attendants, servants, and knights.

.     .     .     .     .     .     .     .

“Fisherman,” the Queen commanded a week later. “Go back to the magic fish and tell him that I want to be the Empress of all the lands and all the seas!”

And so the fisherman returned to the sea.

Rough Waters

“Oh magical fish,” he cried out.

This time the sea became rough. Dark clouds gathered. After a while the magic fish appeared.
“The Queen says she wants to be Empress of all the lands and all the seas.”

But this time the fish just turned and swam away.
The waves tossed and turned ferociously. The wind blew. There was thunder and lightening.

When the fisherman arrive home, the storm had cleared.

He found his wife back in their little, old house with their old stove.

 *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *

Questions

1. The fisherman was very successful. Yes, no, yes and no, maybe? Was he rich, middle-class, or poor?

2. The fisherman thought, “Today isn’t my lucky day.” What can you say about this?

3. Was he very materialistic? Does he love money?

4. The fisherman’s wife was very happy with him. Is this right or wrong? What did his wife say? What did she want?

5. Did his wife remain the same throughout the story or did she change?

6. At the end, how did the fish feel? Why did it feel that way?

7. Is there a moral or lesson to this story? What is the moral or lesson of this story?

8. What are some examples from real life?
 
 
A. I go fishing sometimes. Yes or no? Do your friends go fishing?

B. Is seafood popular in your city and country? Where does the seafood come from?

C. If you could wish for anything, what do you wish for? I wish . . . .

D. I know some people who want to be very rich and live in a mansion.

E. How can people make their wishes come true?