Stranica 143 [143]
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THE FISHERMAN AND HIS WIFE. 107
- We will see about that,” said the wife. With that they
both went to bed; but she was as far as ever from being con¬
tented, and she could not get to sleep for thinking of what she
should like to be next.
The husband, however, slept as fast as a top after his
busy day; but the wife tossed and turned from side to side
the whole night through, thinking all the while what she could
be next, but nothing would occur to her; and when she saw
the red dawn she slipped off the bed, and sat before the win¬
dow to see the sun rise, and as it came up she said,
“Ah, I have it! what if I should make the sun and moon
to rise—husband !” she cried, and stuck her elbow in his ribs,
" wake up, and go to your fish, and tell him I want power over
the sun and moon.”
The man was so fast asleep that when he started up he
fell out of bed. Then he shook himself together, and opened
his eyes and said,
“ Oh,—wife, what did you say ?”
“ Husband,” said she, “if I cannot get the power of mak¬
ing the sun and moon rise when I want them, I shall never
have another quiet hour. Go to the fish and tell him so.”
“O wife!” said the man, and fell on his knees to her,
“the fish can really not do that for you. I grant you he
could make you emperor and pope; do be contented with that,
I beg of you.”
. And she became wild with impatience, and screamed out,
“T can wait no longer, go at once!”
And so off he went as well as he could for fright. Anda
dreadful storm arose, so that he could hardly keep his feet ;
and the houses and trees were blown down, and the mountains
trembled, and rocks fell in the sea; the sky was quite black,
and it thundered and lightened ; and the waves, crowned with
foam, ran mountains high. So he cried out, without being
able to hear his own words,
‘‘O man, O man !—if man you be,
Or flounder, flounder, in the sea—
Such a tiresome wife I’ve got,
For she wants what I do not.”
“ Well, what now?” said the flounder.