Fun Story of the Fisherman and His Wife with Moral

The story of the fisherman and his wife is very popular among the kids. It is filled with morals. This story is a German fairy tale that was collected by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm. Stories with morals always helped kids to differentiate between right and wrong. In this story, we will see two different characters one is the fisherman who is a contented person and the second is his wife, a greedy personality. They provide life lessons to children. Let’s read the fun story and learn the moral of the story.

The Fisherman Story in English

A poor fisherman used to live near the sea with his wife in a hovel. He went fishing every day. One day, a great flounder was stuck in his line. The flounder requested him not to kill him. The flounder said, “I am an enchanted prince and put me back into the water.” The fisherman said, “I won’t kill a flounder that can talk”. He set free the founder and it swam down to the sea.

Fisherman and the Flounder

When he returned to his wife in the hovel, she asked why he did not come with any fish. He replied that he got only a flounder who told him that he was an enchanted prince, so he set it free. His wife said, "Didn't you ask for anything?" "No," said the fisherman. The wife said that he should have asked for a little cottage. The man did not want to oppose his wife, so he went to the sea and said,

Flounder, flounder, in the sea!

Pray, listen to me.

My wife, my wife Ilsebill,

Will have whatever I wish and say!

The flounder swam up and asked the fisherman, "What does she want?"

Flounder

The fisherman told him that his wife wished for a cottage. The flounder said, "Go home. She already has it." His wife was standing near a beautiful cottage when he returned. 

Beautiful Cottage given by the Flounder

Everything went well for a few days and then the woman became greedy and told her husband to ask for a palace from the flounder. The man said that the cottage is good enough for us. But he did not want to argue with his wife, so he went to the flounder and said,

Flounder, flounder, in the sea!

Pray, listen to me.

My wife, my wife Ilsebill,

Will have whatever I wish and say!

The flounder again fulfilled his wish for his wife.

The next morning, the woman told her husband that we can be the king of this land and the flounder can fulfil our wish. The man said that he did not want to be the king. But the wife said she wanted to be the king and told him to go to the flounder. He went to the sea and again said,

Flounder, flounder, in the sea!

Pray, listen to me.

My wife, my wife Ilsebill,

Will have whatever I wish and say!

The flounder again fulfilled her desire to be a King.

The Woman became the King

The greed of the woman was increasing day by day as her desires were getting fulfilled. She wished for becoming emperor and later pope and the flounder kept on fulfilling her wishes. After getting everything, she was still not satisfied with what she had. All the night she tossed and turned from one side to the other, always thinking about what she could become, but she could not think of anything. She could not sleep peacefully after becoming pope while her husband slept comfortably. 

The next day, she told her husband that she wanted to become God so that she can control the movement of the Sun. His husband bent on his knees and begged his wife to be satisfied. She kicked her husband with her foot in anger and told him to visit the flounder immediately. The fisherman visited the sea and said,

Flounder, flounder, in the sea!

Pray, listen to me.

My wife, my wife Ilsebill,

Will have whatever I wish and say!

The flounder asked what her wife wished for now. The fisherman told him that she wanted to become God. The flounder said, "Go home. She is sitting in her filthy hovel again."

The Woman and the Fisherman with their Hovel

Moral of the Story

The moral of the story of the fisherman and his wife is that we should always be satisfied with what we have. A person can not be happy if he/she can not find happiness in the things that they already have. The fisherman in this story was a satisfied person but his wife was very greedy. At the end of the story, she lost everything because of her greed.

The story is very knowledgeable and interesting for the readers. Reading such stories is always beneficial for the kids.