The Magic Silver Fish

Once upon a time there lived
in Spain a fisherman named
Pedro. He was very poor and
lived with his wife in a small
wooden hut, close to the sea-
shore. He worked very hard to
make a living, but he was quite
happy. His wife, however, grum-
bled all day long about how
poor they were and what a
terrible home they had to live in.

"You must do better at your
work," she told Pedro, one
morning. "You must catch
more and more fish to sell in
the market. Then perhaps, we
can move from this wooden
hut to a cottage made of stone.
I am sure we could do it, if
only you were not so lazy."

The fisherman sighed. He
was not lazy at all. From dawn
until dusk, he would stand



on the rocks, casting his line
into the sea until his arms
ached. The trouble was that
there were very few fish around
that part of the coast to be
caught.

On that day, however, when
his wife had grumbled even
more than ever, the fisherman
threw out his line and at once
caught a fish so huge that the
rod bent under its weight.

The fish struggled to get free.
The fisherman struggled even
harder to get it to the shore.
At last he was able to do this
and to his great surprise, he
saw that the great fish was
completely silver in colour from
its mouth to the tip of its tail.

More to his Surprise, was the
fact that the fish could speak.
"Be kind, fisherman Pedro, I



beg of you," said the fish.
"Please let me go and I promise
that in return I will give you a
great reward, because I am a
magic silver fish."

At first, Pedro had no thought
of giving up his splendid catch,
but after the great silver fish
had pleaded again to be let
free, he unhooked it and pushed
it back into the sea, where it
at once swam out of sight.

Pedro went back home and
told his wife of this strange
adventure. When he got to
the part about the fish promi-
sing him a reward, his wife
said in a shrill voice, "You
silly, foolish man. Go back to
the seashore at once and ask
the fish for a house instead of
this wooden hut."

Pedro went back and spoke
to the silver fish. "That is not
a very big thing to wish for,"
it said. "Return home and
you will see some of my magic."

When he reached home,
Pedro was delighted to see his
wife sitting at the front door of
a pleasant-looking house.

For some days she was satis-
fied with her new home, but
one moring, she started grum-
bling again. "This is not really
enough," she told her fisherman
husband. "What I really wan-



ted was a castle and servants to
work for me. Go at once and
tell the big fish so."

Poor Pedro had to return to
the shore, call the fish and ex-
plain his wife's new wish. The
magic silver fish just waved
one of its fins and replied,
"Your wish is granted, fisher-
man Pedro. Return home and
you will see."

When Pedro returned, he
found his wife taking a walk in
the beautiful grounds of a splen-
did castle, with tame peacocks
fluttering all around her.

By next 'day, the wife was
tired of the castle and made
Pedro go to the silver fish with
a demand that she be made a
Queen in a royal palace. The
fish, agreeing, said, "Very well,
your wish is granted. Go back
and see."

On returning, Pedro found
instead of a castle, a marvellous



palace with turrets and towers.
In a grand hall, he found his
wife sitting on a golden throne.

"Ah, now she will be happy,"
he thought, but he was wrong.

By the afternoon, she was
again grumbling. "Now I want
to be the Empress of all the
world," she said.

Pedro had to return yet once
more and tell the magic silver
fish of his wife's desire to be
Empress of the world.

"Very well," said the fish.
''Your wife's wish will be gran-
ted. Go back and see."

Now, Pedro saw an ever lar-
ger palace, built of precious
marble, with a whole roof of
solid gold. Going into the
1 beautiful rooms, the humble
fisherman found his wife sitting



on a huge golden throne, six
feet high. She was wearing a
dress covered wih diamonds
and pearls. She was talking
and laughing with a crowd of
gay princes and dukes.

The new Empress of all the
world was happy, until the'follo-
wing morning, when she looked
out of the window.

"What a horrid day," she
grumbled. "See how ugly and
cloudy the sky is. It makes me
feel miserable. Go to -the fish
at once and say that I want to
be the most important person
in Heaven, so that I can make
the sun shine whenever 1 wish."

As she spoke, a frightening
storm arose. Rain, sleet and
snow came slashing down from
the black sky. Trees bent to the
ground under the force of a
howling wind and even the



rocks trembled in the crashing
rough seas.

Amidst thunder and light-
ning, Pedro made his way to
the seashore. He found the
fish and shouted to it, explaining
his wife's wish.

"Go home and you will find
that she has. been given a true
reward," the magic silver fish
replied. With a sudden quicK
twist, it turned and disappeared
into the black and stormy sea.

The fisherman returned. The
splendid palace had dis-
appeared. Pedro's, wife, dressed
in tattered clothes, was sitting
on a stool in front of their
old wooden hut.

Because of her greed, she was
back where she started, but at
least the magic silver fish had
done Pedro a good turn, for
his wife never grumbled again.