Sire, there was once upon a time a fisherman so old and so poor that he could

scarcely manage to support his wife and three children. He went every day to

fish very early, and each day he made a rule not to throw his nets more than four

times. He started out one morning by moonlight and came to the sea-shore. He

undressed and threw his nets, and as he was drawing them towards the bank he

felt a great weight. He though he had caught a large fish, and he felt very

pleased. But a moment afterwards, seeing that instead of a fish he only had in his

nets the carcase of an ass, he was much disappointed.

Vexed with having such a bad haul, when he had mended his nets, which the

carcase of the ass had broken in several places, he threw them a second time. In

drawing them in he again felt a great weight, so that he thought they were full of

fish. But he only found a large basket full of rubbish. He was much annoyed.

"O Fortune," he cried, "do not trifle thus with me, a poor fisherman, who can

hardly support his family!"

So saying, he threw away the rubbish, and after having washed his nets clean

of the dirt, he threw them for the third time. But he only drew in stones, shells,

and mud. He was almost in despair.

Then he threw his nets for the fourth time. When he thought he had a fish he

drew them in with a great deal of trouble. There was no fish however, but he

found a yellow pot, which by its weight seemed full of something, and he

noticed that it was fastened and sealed with lead, with the impression of a seal.

He was delighted. "I will sell it to the founder," he said; "with the money I shall

get for it I shall buy a measure of wheat."

He examined the jar on all sides; he shook it to see if it would rattle. But he

heard nothing, and so, judging from the impression of the seal and the lid, he

thought there must be something precious inside. To find out, he took his knife,

and with a little trouble he opened it. He turned it upside down, but nothing

came out, which surprised him very much. He set it in front of him, and whilst

he was looking at it attentively, such a thick smoke came out that he had to step

back a pace or two. This smoke rose up to the clouds, and stretching over the sea

and the shore, formed a thick mist, which caused the fisherman much

astonishment. When all the smoke was out of the jar it gathered itself together,

and became a thick mass in which appeared a genius, twice as large as the largest

giant. When he saw such a terrible-looking monster, the fisherman would like to

have run away, but he trembled so with fright that he could not move a step.

"Great king of the genii," cried the monster, "I will never again disobey you!"

At these words the fisherman took courage.

"What is this you are saying, great genius? Tell me your history and how you

came to be shut up in that vase."

At this, the genius looked at the fisherman haughtily. "Speak to me more

civilly," he said, "before I kill you."

"Alas! why should you kill me?" cried the fisherman. "I have just freed you;

have you already forgotten that?"

"No," answered the genius; "but that will not prevent me from killing you;

and I am only going to grant you one favour, and that is to choose the manner of

your death."

"But what have I done to you?" asked the fisherman.

"I cannot treat you in any other way," said the genius, "and if you would

know why, listen to my story.

"I rebelled against the king of the genii. To punish me, he shut me up in this

vase of copper, and he put on the leaden cover his seal, which is enchantment

enough to prevent my coming out. Then he had the vase thrown into the sea.

During the first period of my captivity I vowed that if anyone should free me

before a hundred years were passed, I would make him rich even after his death.

But that century passed, and no one freed me. In the second century I vowed that

I would give all the treasures in the world to my deliverer; but he never came.

"In the third, I promised to make him a king, to be always near him, and to

grant him three wishes every day; but that century passed away as the other two

had done, and I remained in the same plight. At last I grew angry at being

captive for so long, and I vowed that if anyone would release me I would kill

him at once, and would only allow him to choose in what manner he should die.

So you see, as you have freed me to-day, choose in what way you will die."

The fisherman was very unhappy. "What an unlucky man I am to have freed

you! I implore you to spare my life."

"I have told you," said the genius, "that it is impossible. Choose quickly; you

are wasting time."

The fisherman began to devise a plot.

"Since I must die," he said, "before I choose the manner of my death, I

conjure you on your honour to tell me if you really were in that vase?"

"Yes, I was," answered the genius.

"I really cannot believe it," said the fisherman. "That vase could not contain

one of your feet even, and how could your whole body go in? I cannot believe it

unless I see you do the thing."

Then the genius began to change himself into smoke, which, as before,

spread over the sea and the shore, and which, then collecting itself together,

began to go back into the vase slowly and evenly till there was nothing left

outside. Then a voice came from the vase which said to the fisherman, "Well,

unbelieving fisherman, here I am in the vase; do you believe me now?"

The fisherman instead of answering took the lid of lead and shut it down

quickly on the vase.

"Now, O genius," he cried, "ask pardon of me, and choose by what death you

will die! But no, it will be better if I throw you into the sea whence I drew you

out, and I will build a house on the shore to warn fishermen who come to cast

their nets here, against fishing up such a wicked genius as you are, who vows to

kill the man who frees you."

At these words the genius did all he could to get out, but he could not,

because of the enchantment of the lid.

Then he tried to get out by cunning.

"If you will take off the cover," he said, "I will repay you."

"No," answered the fisherman, "if I trust myself to you I am afraid you will

treat me as a certain Greek king treated the physician Douban. Listen, and I will

tell you."