19 The Fisherman and His Wife Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm
Then the flounder said to him, "Listen, fisherman, I beg you to let me live. I am not an ordinary flounder, but an enchanted prince. How will it help you to kill me? I would not taste good to you. Put me back into the water, and let me swim."
"Well," said the man, "there's no need to say more. I can certainly let a fish swim away who knows how to talk."
With that he put it back into the clear water, and the flounder disappeared to the bottom, leaving a long trail of blood behind him.
Then the fisherman got up and went home to his wife in the filthy shack.
"Husband," said the woman, "didn't you catch anything today?"
"No," said the man. "I caught a flounder, but he told me that he was an enchanted prince, so I let him swim away."
"Didn't you ask for anything first?" said the woman.
"No," said the man. "What should I have asked for?"
"Oh," said the woman. "It is terrible living in this shack. It stinks and is filthy. You should have asked for a little cottage for us. Go back and call him. Tell him that we want to have a little cottage. He will surely give it to us."
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