The Fisherman and His Wife
어부와 그의 아내
Brothers Grimm (Jacob, 1863; Wilhelm, 1859)
The Story
Tap a word to translate it. Select text to highlight it or add it to your study plan.
A poor fisherman and his wife lived together in a small, dirty hut by the sea.One day, the fisherman caught a huge fish that could talk.The fish begged to be set free, and said he was really an enchanted prince.
The kind fisherman let the fish go without asking for anything in return.When he told his wife, she scolded him for not making even one wish.She sent him back to the sea to ask for a nice little cottage instead of their hut.
The fisherman stood by the water and called out, and the fish appeared and granted the wish at once.But soon the wife wanted more, and sent him back again and again — for a stone castle, then to be king, then emperor, then even pope.Each time, the fish granted her wish, though the sea grew darker and stormier with every visit.
The fisherman felt more and more afraid, but his wife was never satisfied.Finally, she said she wanted to control the sun and the moon themselves.
Trembling, the fisherman walked to the sea one last time under a black, thundering sky.He called for the fish and made his wife’s final wish.The fish said nothing this time, and simply told him, “Go home — she is sitting in your old hut again.”
The fisherman walked home and found everything exactly as the fish had said.The castle, the crown, and all their riches were gone, and only the small, dirty hut remained.And there the fisherman and his wife stayed, with nothing more than they had at the very beginning.
Full translationTry the story first — open this only to check your understanding.
가난한 어부와 그의 아내는 바닷가의 작고 지저분한 오두막에서 함께 살았어요. 어느 날, 어부는 말을 할 수 있는 커다란 물고기를 한 마리 잡았어요. 그 물고기는 풀어 달라고 애원하며, 사실 자신은 마법에 걸린 왕자라고 말했어요.
마음씨 착한 어부는 아무런 대가도 바라지 않고 물고기를 놓아주었어요. 그가 이 이야기를 아내에게 하자, 그녀는 소원을 하나도 빌지 않았다며 그를 나무랐어요. 그녀는 오두막 대신 아담한 집을 하나 갖고 싶다며 남편을 다시 바다로 보냈어요.
어부가 물가에 서서 물고기를 부르자, 물고기가 나타나 즉시 소원을 들어주었어요. 하지만 곧 아내는 더 많은 것을 원했고, 남편을 몇 번이고 다시 보냈어요. 돌로 된 성을, 그다음엔 왕이 되기를, 그다음엔 황제를, 심지어 교황이 되기를 원했지요. 매번 물고기는 소원을 들어주었지만, 어부가 찾아갈 때마다 바다는 점점 더 어둡고 사나워졌어요.
어부는 점점 더 두려워졌지만, 아내는 도무지 만족하는 법이 없었어요. 마침내 그녀는 해와 달까지 마음대로 다스리고 싶다고 말했어요.
어부는 벌벌 떨며, 천둥 치는 검은 하늘 아래 마지막으로 바다를 찾아갔어요. 그는 물고기를 불러 아내의 마지막 소원을 전했어요. 이번에는 물고기가 아무 말도 하지 않고, 그저 이렇게 말했어요. "집으로 돌아가라. 그녀는 다시 옛날 오두막에 앉아 있을 것이다."
어부가 집으로 돌아가 보니, 모든 것이 물고기의 말 그대로였어요. 성도, 왕관도, 그 많던 재물도 모두 사라지고, 작고 지저분한 오두막만 남아 있었어요. 그렇게 어부와 그의 아내는 처음 그대로의 모습으로 그곳에 계속 살게 되었답니다.
Original text
Now read the original
You just read an easy retelling. Here is the same passage exactly as the author wrote it — unabridged, split into short readings.
The complete story · 2,115 words · 5 short readings
Read the originalComprehension Check
1. Why did the fisherman's wife scold him after he caught the magic fish?
2. What happened to the sea each time the fisherman went back with a new wish?
3. What did the fisherman and his wife have at the end of the story?
Vocabulary
adjective
enchanted
마법에 걸린
The fish begged to be set free, and said he was really an enchanted prince.
그 물고기는 풀어 달라고 애원하며, 사실 자신은 마법에 걸린 왕자라고 말했어요.
Your Summary
In 1–2 sentences, say what the wife's final wish was, and what happened to the fisherman and his wife because of it.
Source: Adapted from the Brothers Grimm's tale "The Fisherman and His Wife" ("Von dem Fischer un syner Fru"), collected in Grimm's Household Tales (1812–1857; Project Gutenberg #2591, long in the public domain). This simplified retelling and its Korean translation are original text written for SeoJae Story.
Read this with your book club
Share this chapter with your book club and discuss it together.