The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish

"The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish" - a fairy tale by Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin. It was written on October 14, 1833.

The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish

The old man and his wife live by the sea. The old man gets his livelihood from fishing, and once in his net comes an unusual goldfish that can speak the human language. She promises any ransom and asks to let her go to sea, but the old man lets her go (that is, a fish) without asking for a reward. Returning home, he tells his wife about what happened. She scolds him and makes him return to the sea, call for a fish and ask for at least a new trough. At the sea, the old man calls for a fish that appears and promises to fulfill his desire, saying: "Don’t be sad, step yourself with God."

Returning home, he sees his wife a new trough. However, the old woman’s “appetites” are increasing - she makes her husband return to the fish again and again, demanding for both, and then only for herself, more and more undeserved rewards (to receive a new hut, to be a columnar noblewoman, to be a “free queen”, to be "Mistress of the sea"). The sea to which the old man comes is gradually changing from calm to stormy. Having become a noblewoman, the old woman demonstrates contempt for the source of her successes, her husband, and, having been the queen, completely banishes him.

In the end, she calls her husband back and demands that the fish make her "mistress of the sea", and the fish itself should be in her service. The fish does not answer the old man’s request, and when he returns home, he sees the old woman, deprived of all the gifts and sitting at the old broken trough.

The proverb “to stay with nothing” entered into Russian culture - that is, to pursue more, and to remain with nothing.