A fisherman lived with his wife in a small, dirty shack by the sea. One day, the man caught a large fish. The fish said, "Please let me go! I am not a fish; I am an enchanted prince." The fisherman was surprised and let the fish go back into the water.
When he told his wife, she was angry. "You let him go for nothing? Go back and ask him for a nice cottage!"
The man went back to the sea, which was now green and yellow. He called out to the fish, and it appeared. "My wife wants a cottage," the man said.
"Go home," said the fish. "She has it already." The man went back and found a beautiful cottage. He was happy, but his wife was not. After two weeks, she said, "This house is too small. Go back and ask for a large stone castle."
The man didn't want to go, but he was afraid of his wife. This time, the sea was dark blue and gloomy. The fish granted the wish, and the wife moved into a giant castle with many servants.
Soon, the wife wanted more. "I want to be King!" she demanded. The man went back to the grey sea, and the fish made her King. Then she wanted to be Emperor, and the fish made her Emperor. Finally, she wanted to be the Pope. The man went to the black, stormy sea, and the fish made her Pope.
That night, the wife could not sleep. She watched the sun rise and became angry. "Why can't I control the sun and the moon?" she screamed. She ordered her husband to find the fish again.
The fisherman went to the shore during a terrible storm. The wind was blowing trees down, and the waves were as high as mountains. He called the fish and said, "My wife wants to be Lord of the sun and the moon."
"Go home," the fish said quietly. "She is sitting in her old shack again."
And there they lived, back in their small, dirty home, for the rest of their lives.