The Fisherman and the Genie

The Poor Fisherman

Long ago, in a land of deserts and shining seas, there lived a poor fisherman. He was so poor that he had made a rule for himself: he would cast his net into the sea only four times each day, and whatever it brought, he would be content.

One morning he went down to the shore, said his prayers, and cast his net for the first time. When he drew it in, it was so heavy he was sure he had caught a wonderful fish. But inside the net lay only the carcass of a dead donkey. The fisherman sighed, cleaned his net, and tried again.

The second cast was heavy too — but this time it held only a jar full of mud and sand. The third cast brought up nothing but broken pots and stones. Three casts gone, and not a single fish to feed his family.

"One cast remains," he said. "I will trust to fortune." And he flung the net out a fourth time.

The Brass Bottle

This time, when he pulled, the net came up heavy with something hard. He hauled it onto the sand and found a brass bottle, tall and curiously shaped, with its mouth sealed shut by a stopper of lead, stamped with a strange and ancient mark.

"This is worth something at the market, at least," thought the fisherman, pleased. "And whatever is sealed inside might be worth more still." Curious, he worked the lead stopper loose with the point of his knife and tipped the bottle to look inside.

At first nothing happened. Then a thin coil of smoke rose from the bottle's mouth. It poured out faster and faster, thicker and thicker, until it towered into the sky and blotted out the sun. The smoke swirled and gathered — and there before the trembling fisherman stood an enormous genie, with eyes like flames and a voice like rolling thunder.

The Genie's Terrible Vow

"At last I am free!" boomed the genie. "And now, little man, you shall die."

The fisherman fell back in terror. "Die? But I have just set you free! Is this how you repay your rescuer?"

"Listen," said the genie, "and you will understand. Long, long ago, a great and powerful king sealed me in this bottle and cast me into the sea. For a hundred years I waited, and I swore that whoever freed me in that time would be made rich beyond dreams. No one came. For another hundred years I waited, and I swore I would give my rescuer all the treasures of the earth. Still no one came. The years dragged on and on, and at last my heart turned bitter. I swore that whoever finally freed me would be killed — and I would grant him only one mercy: to choose how he should die. You have freed me, fisherman. Now choose."

A Battle of Wits

The fisherman's knees shook, but his mind began to work quickly. He could not fight a genie. He could not run from one. So he would have to be clever.

"Very well," he said, pretending to accept his fate. "I will die, since I must. But first, by the great and powerful mark stamped upon that bottle, answer me one thing truthfully."

"Ask," growled the genie.

"Were you really inside that little bottle?" said the fisherman, frowning. "You are so vast that your head touches the clouds. I cannot believe that even your foot, let alone your whole self, ever fit in so small a thing. I think you are lying to me."

"You doubt me?" roared the genie. "Watch!"

And the great genie dissolved into smoke once more. The smoke streamed down, thinner and thinner, pouring itself back into the brass bottle, coil upon coil, until every last wisp had vanished inside.

A voice echoed faintly from within: "Now do you believe me?"

The Tables Turned

Quick as lightning, the fisherman snatched up the lead stopper and jammed it firmly back into the bottle's mouth, sealing the genie inside once more.

"Now," he called, "it is you who must choose how you would like to spend the next hundred years! I shall throw you back into the sea and warn everyone who fishes here never to open you again."

From inside the bottle came a sudden change of tune. "No, no!" cried the genie. "I was only joking — I did not mean it! Let me out, and I will reward you richly, I promise."

"You are a liar," said the fisherman. "You swore to kill the very man who saved you. Why should I trust you now?"

But the genie begged and pleaded and swore the most solemn oaths, until at last the fisherman's heart softened. "If you truly mean it," he said, "swear to do me good and not harm." The genie swore faithfully, and the fisherman, cautious but kind, drew out the stopper once more.

A Just Reward

This time the genie kept his word. Grateful to be free again and humbled by the clever little fisherman, he led the man to a hidden lake among the hills, full of fish of red, white, blue, and yellow.

"Cast your net here," said the genie, "but only once a day. Sell these fish to the king himself, and your fortune is made." Then, with a rush of wind, the genie sank into the earth and was gone.

The fisherman did exactly as he was told. The wondrous fish brought him great wealth, and he and his family lived in comfort for the rest of their days. He never forgot that on the morning he had nothing but a sealed brass bottle and his own wits, it was his calm and clever mind, not strength or magic, that had saved his life.

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The moral: Brute force is not the only power in the world. When you face something far stronger than yourself, a steady head and a clever plan may carry you through where nothing else can.

Want more world folktales? Try Aladdin-style adventures in The Magic Paintbrush or the trickster tale Anansi and the Pot of Wisdom next.