One night a luckless fisherman set out into the mist.
He’d not got a bite in many years – his lure had always missed.
He set his hook and cast it out into the darkened sea,
And looked to the sky and closed his eyes and made a silent plea;
“My house is small, my wife is sad, my boots are caked with muck,
I can no longer make a living, Lord…I deserve a little luck.”
The sky made no sign that it understood what he had said,
Not even a slight breeze came down to cool his worried head.
Then suddenly, the fisherman felt (with all the power of a bug)
Something pulling at his rod…could it be…a tug?
He grabbed the rod and arched his back and pulled with all his might.
The thing he’d caught was big – his line was really tight.
He reeled and reeled and reeled and reeled and reeled and reeled away.
He reeled and reeled until the early hours of the day.
It took him most of the night, but he finally pulled it in,
And there, laying before him, was a fish with rainbow fins.
“Oh Fisherman, I pray you, before you cause my gore,
Just hear me out and realize I’ll give you the world, and more!
You see, you have caught me, I am no normal fish…
I am quite magical and have the ability to grant one wish.
Think of everything you want, whatever your needs require…
Imagine, out of anything, what the one thing is you desire.
I assure you, I am sincerely enchanted,
Simply state your wish and it will be granted!
Although there is a certain price, there is one small fee,
That once I grant your wish, you allow me to go free
So that I may live with my family, my sons, my daughters, my wife…
So that I may return to them and enjoy them as they thrive.”
The fisherman sat, stunned for a while, and was lost deep in thought.
In the entire world, what was one thing that he desperately sought?
He wanted a new broom, rake, shovel, and a plow.
He wanted a dog, he wanted a horse, he really wanted a cow.
He wanted more love, understanding, reassurance, he wanted loyalty…
He wanted more money, more respect, he wanted to be royalty!
Then he thought about his wife, whom he’d left with a hungry frown,
And the image of her face brought his fantasies realistically back down.
The fisherman sat, contemplating, and finished his deep thought.
In the entire world, he knew the one thing that he desperately sought.
“I’ve thought about this long and hard, considered all the pitches,
I’ve longed for people, their emotions, fame, control, and riches,
I’ve dreamt of looking down on the Earth from Heaven, high above,
And yet, no matter how hard I try, I can’t get past my love.
You see, there’s this woman I know who’s got a pretty bad life…
And I can’t help but feel responsible for that, she is, after all, my wife.
I know my wish, I’ve figured it out, and it’s one I can respect…
Though I don’t think if you tried to guess it, you would be correct.
So prepare for this, oh Wishing Fish, I pray this is no mistake –
I’m about to wish not for myself, but rather, for my wife’s sake.
I’m sick of asking God for fortune on a silver plate,
I do believe it is now time I started to write my own fate.
Now, as for my wife, I’m not sure if she can get any thinner.
So, my friend, I Wish to take you home and make you into our dinner.”
Poem: The Magical Fish
