Translation:Collection of Slavic Folk Tales/XVI
XVI
THE GOLDEN FISH
(RUSSIAN TALE)
On the Ocean Sea, on the island of Buyan, stood a small hut; in this hut lived an old man and his wife. They were very poor; the husband had a net and fished for fish; that was their daily food. Once he cast his net, and when he pulled it back, the net was heavy, heavier than ever before; he had great trouble lifting it. He looked, the net was empty; yet he found a small fish, but a fish like few others, a golden fish.
The fish, with a human voice, began to plead with the fisherman:
"Don't take me, old man, throw me back into the blue sea; I'll serve you; whatever you ask, I'll do for you."
The old man thought and thought and answered:
"Go, I don't need you. Go swim in the sea."
He threw the golden fish back and returned home.
His wife asked: "Old man, did you catch anything good?"
"Just one little golden fish, and I threw it back into the sea; it made such fine pleas! ‘Throw me back,’ it said, ‘into the blue sea; I'll serve you; I'll do whatever you ask.’ I took pity on it; I didn't ask for a ransom. I set it free for nothing."
"Old fool!" she said. "You had fortune in your hand and didn't know how to use it."
The old woman got angry; she tormented her husband from morning to night; she gave him no moment's rest.
"If only you had asked that fish for bread! We won't even have an old crust to eat soon. What will you eat?"
The old man lost patience; he went to find the golden fish to ask for bread. He reached the seashore and shouted with all his strength:
"Golden fish! Golden fish! Come to me, tail in the sea, head turned to me."
The fish came to the shore:
"Old man, what do you want?"
"My wife is angry; she sent me to ask you for bread."
"Go home, old man, you'll find bread in abundance."
The old man returned: "Well! Is there bread?"
"Plenty. But here's the trouble: the washtub is broken, I don't know where to wash my laundry. Go find the golden fish; ask for a new washtub."
The old man went to the seashore:
"Golden fish, come to me, tail in the sea, head turned to me."
The golden fish came.
"Old man, what do you want?"
"It's my wife who sent me; she asks for a new washtub."
"Very well: you have it."
The old man returned home; he wasn't yet at the door when his wife shouted:
"Go, old man, find the golden fish, and ask it to build us a new hut; you see our old one is falling apart."
The old man went back to the seashore:
"Golden fish! Golden fish! Come to me!"
"What do you want?" asked the fish.
"Build us a new hut; my wife is in a bad mood; she says she doesn't want to live in an old hut that's falling apart."
"Don't worry, old man; go home and pray to God; it will be done."
The old man returned: in his yard stood a brand-new oak house with carved ornaments.
The old woman came to meet him; she was even angrier, shouting louder still.
"Old fool, you don't know how to seize fortune. You ask for a new hut and think you've done something grand. Go find the golden fish; tell it: My wife doesn't want to be a mere peasant anymore; she wants to be an archduchess, to command good people, and have them bow deeply to her."
The old man went back to the sea and made the request.
"Very well," said the fish; "go home and pray to God, it will be done."
The old man returned, and instead of a hut, what did he see? A great three-story stone house; lackeys swarmed in the yard, cooks in the kitchen; and his wife, dressed in a rich costume embroidered with gold and silver, sat and gave orders.
"Hello, my wife!"
"Look at this boor calling me his wife, me, an archduchess. Hey! Take him to the stable and whip him soundly."
The lackeys rushed in, grabbed the old man, took him to the stable, and beat him so much he could barely stand.
After this fine deed, the old woman made her husband the house porter; she had him given a broom and ordered him to sweep the yard and eat and drink in the kitchen. A hard life for the poor old man: sweeping the yard all day; and if it wasn't clean, beware the stable!
"What a witch!" thought the poor devil; "she has happiness at her fingertips and wallows in it like a… Now she doesn't even want me as her husband."
Soon the old woman grew tired of being an archduchess. She summoned the old man and said:
"Old fool, go find the golden fish; tell it: ‘My wife doesn't want to be an archduchess anymore; she wants to be an empress.’"
The old man made the request.
"Very well," said the fish, "be at ease: go home, pray to God; it will be done."
The old man returned home. Instead of the magnificent house, he found a palace with a golden roof. Sentinels surrounded the palace and blocked entry; behind stretched a vast park; in front, a green meadow; on the meadow, troops were gathered.
The old woman, dressed as an empress, appeared on the balcony with generals and boyars; she reviewed the troops; drums beat, music played; the soldiers shouted: Hurrah!
Soon, the old woman grew tired of being an empress; she ordered the old man to be found and brought before Her Splendor. The whole place was turned upside down; the generals worried, the boyars ran: "What old man? What's he like?"
At last, they found him in a back courtyard and brought him to the empress.
"Listen, old fool, go find the golden fish; tell it: ‘My wife doesn't want to be an empress anymore; she wants to be queen of the waters, to rule all seas and command all fish.’"
The old man wanted to refuse.
"Go at once, or I'll have your head cut off."
He gathered his courage, went to the seashore, and shouted:
"Golden fish! Little golden fish! Come to me, tail in the sea, head turned to me."
The golden fish didn't appear. The old man called a second time; the fish still didn't appear. He called a third time. The sea foamed, churned; just before it was white and clear, now it was all black. The golden fish came to the shore:
"What do you want, old man?"
"My wife's gone mad! She doesn't want to be an empress anymore. She wants to be queen of the seas, to rule all waters, command all fish."
The golden fish didn't answer the old man and vanished into the depths of the sea.
The old man returned to the palace, looked; he couldn't believe his eyes: no more palace! In its place stood an old hut, and in the hut sat an old woman in a torn dress!
And they began to live as in the past. The old man went back to fishing; but no matter how he cast his nets in the sea, he never found the golden fish again.