I did it again didn’t I? Failed to give you the vital lunar details. Jeez, some witch (or would that be, some blogger)! Yesterday (Sunday) the moon was full at 6:37 p.m. (my time). Ah well, I spent all day Saturday thinking it was going to be full at 6:37 A.M.! I try folks, I really do.
(Warning: be aware that the following cautionary tale is not a politically correct story. It was of its time, and as such, portrays the female gender in a negative light. But, it is what it is, and it is what I grew up with. Also keep in mind that it is so much better with the hand motions and when told with animated voice changes.)
Once there was a fisherman. He lived on a beach in a hut. He had a boat, and a net, and a wife. One day as he was in his boat fishing in the sea, he pulled in his net, and began rowing home.
“Let me go,” said a voice. The fisherman stopped rowing and listened. He was alone on the ocean, so this puzzled him.
“I said, let me go,” said the voice again. The fisherman looked all around him. Nothing but the vast sea in all directions. He picked up his oars to row again when he heard, “I’m in the boat with you.” The fisherman peered down into the net at his feet.
“Yes. I am a fish,” said the voice. “A magic fish. Please let me go.” The fisherman continued to look at what was in his net.
“If you let me go I will grant you a wish.” This time the fisherman saw who was talking to him. He secured his oars and removed the magic fish from his net. Gently placing it over the side, back into the water. The fish swam around a few times then popped its head up next to the boat.
“Thank you Kind Fisherman. What is your wish?”
The fisherman replied, “I have no wish.”
The fish bobbed in the water then swam away. The fisherman rowed home. Over dinner that night he told his wife about the magic fish.
“WHAT?! You let it go?! Get back out there!”
“Why?” asked the fisherman. “We have everything we need.”
“No. We need a big beautiful house! Go back!” She wouldn’t let up. So he had to go back. The next morning he rowed himself to the spot he remembered and said quietly, “magic fish in the sea, come back to me. My wife begs a wish from the magic fish.”
Pop! The fish was beside the boat in an instant. “What would she like?”
“A big beautiful house,” answered the fisherman tentatively.
“She has it,” the fish said, and disappeared beneath the water.
The fisherman rowed home excitedly. There on the beach, where once had stood a shack, was a big beautiful house. And his wife was happy. For one week. After that, she started in on him again. The fisherman pleaded and argued. But it was no use. He headed back to the sea.
“Magic fish in the sea, come back to me. My wife begs a wish from the magic fish,” he said even quieter than the first time.
Ta da! There it was again, right beside the boat. “Was the house not big nor beautiful enough? What does she want?”
“Uh. She would like a palace.”
“Fine. She has her wish.” And the fish was gone.
Sure enough, when the fisherman got his boat up onto the beach, there, instead of a big beautiful house, sat a gleaming palace. And his wife was happy. For two weeks. She started in on him once more. He stood his ground, until he couldn’t any longer. Into the boat he went.
“Magic fish in the sea, come back to me. My wife…” SLAM! Before the fisherman could even finish, the fish was up against the boat.
“What could she possibly want not?!”
Timidly the fisherman explained. She felt that since she had her palace, that meant she needed to be Queen of All The Land. Splash! The fish was gone. So the fisherman rowed home. Upon entering the gleaming palace he was confronted by many guards demanding that he kneel before the Queen of All The Land. And his wife was happy. For three weeks. She summoned him to her throne, “go back!” He knew he had to go. He rowed slowly and sadly until he had reached the spot where he needed to be. But before he could even get so far as “magic fish in the sea” the fish was there. Looking as sad as the fisherman felt. “What?”
“The Queen of All The Land believes she should also rule The Sun, The Moon, and The Stars.”
“Kind fisherman,” replied the magic fish, “go home now. Your wife will have precisely what she truly needs.”
So he rowed up to the beach, and there, on the sand, was his old hut.
She had asked for too much. And she had received what she should have. Nothing.
Tomorrow, with pictures, I will tell you what this story meant to me, and how it started making ink appear all over my arms and legs. (Here’s a preview, this is how I view some of them, daily.)
Love it already, Jules! Awaiting the next chapter with happy anticipation—THANK YOU!
Whew! So glad I haven’t bored you already.
No fair! Here I am at 1 a.m. and you’ve left me hanging! ;P I can’t see what the left one is, but — barring catastrophe — I’ll be back to find out.
Oh, forgot to ask, do you have a Facebook page?
So sorry for the teaser My Dear Dee. But it’s a really LONG saga. The ink took nearly 20 years and the ideas behind all of it have been building for way more. (This is gonna be many days in the telling.)
No, I am not on FaceBook, I regulary hack into Dan’s account though, so I can see what my kids are up to (and some assorted favorite friends). Okay, I don’t hack, he gave me his password that last time he went out of town, and I saved it. I have an extremely addictive personality and I know, I just know, that if I signed on to one more thing… well, it wouldn’t be good. But you could be a friend of Dan’s! (He adores it when I do this to him.)
Okay, the most hilariously un-pc part of the story was at the beginning: He had a boat, and a net and a wife.
Nice. Third on the list, after the NET. No wonder she was so happy lol.
LOL! I KNOW! This is pretty much exactly as I remember it from growing up, although I had to add a bit. Like the “he said” parts, there were illustrations in the book so you knew who was talking. But yeah, he did have a net, and THEN a wife.
I realize it’s horrible, but it is also so perfect as it is.
I’m dying to know how that story relates to your tats! lolol But as I read it I could actually hear your animated voice and it made my day.
Aw, so glad you could hear me in the story. It’s really better with the voices and the grand motions. I make a rowing movement and look over my shoulder when he’s in the boat, bob my head when the fish pops up, hold up one finger for “ONE week;” lots of fun when you get to see me tell it in person. For years I was a guest speaker at the middle school the kids attended. One of the English teachers had me come in during her mythology and folktales session. I was a scheduled part of the curriculum.
Somehow I knew you made motions w/ your hands when you talk. lolol Even just talking on the phone I could tell. We really are so alike it’s scary, but a good scary. lolol
It is good scary!