Once upon a time there was a fisherman and his wife who lived together in a small fisherman's hut close to the sea, and the fisherman went there every day and fished: and fished and fished.
So he sat with his fishing rod and kept looking into the clear water: and so he sat and sat.
Then the rod went to the bottom, deep down, and when he pulled it up he pulled out a big flounder. Then the flounder said to him: "Listen, fisherman, I beg you, let me live, I'm not a real flounder, I'm an enchanted prince. What good will it do you if you kill me? I wouldn't really taste good to you anyway: put me back in the water and let me swim." - "Well," said the man, "you don't need to use so many words: I'll let a flounder that can talk swim." With that he put him back in the clear water. Then the flounder went to the bottom and left a long streak of blood behind him. Then the fisherman got up and went to his wife in the little hut.
"Husband," said the wife, "didn't you catch anything today?" - "No," said the husband. "I caught a flounder that said it was an enchanted prince, so I let it swim away again." - "Didn't you wish for anything?" said the wife. "No," said the husband, "what should I wish for?" - "Ah," said the wife, "it's bad, always living in this hut: it stinks and is so disgusting; you could have wished for a little house for us. Go there again and call him. Tell him we want a little house, he'll certainly do it." - "Ah," said the husband, "why should I go there again?" - "Yes," said the wife, "you caught it and let it swim away again - he'll certainly do it. Go there right away!" The husband was still not quite ready, but he didn't want to disobey his wife, so he went to the sea.