The Fisherman and His Wife Characters Narrator 1 Narrator 2 Fisherman Fisherman s Wife Fish Once upon a time there lived a fisherman and his wife. They lived in a hut by the sea. Their hut was small, and they didn t have much money, but they were very happy. Ah, my good wife. Smell that air! I am so happy here in our hut by the sea. Me, too, my husband. We have a roof over our heads and you always bring us fish to eat. We are very lucky. Yes, we are. One day, like every other day, the fisherman was fishing in his little boat on the sea. Suddenly, he felt something tugging on his line. The tugging was so strong, he almost fell out of his boat. 42
(shouting) Wow! That must be some fish! The fisherman pulled and pulled at his line, trying to get the fish out of the water. Finally, the fisherman pulled the fish out. Wow! That is some fish indeed! Why, yes, I am. Please, let me go. Well, I can t do that because... hey, wait a minute, a talking fish? I am not only a talking fish. I am a magic fish. I can give you anything you wish for. That sounds a bit fishy, if you ask me. Maybe so, but it s true. What would you like? Let me go and your wish will come true. Well, let me think. You know, I m so happy with what I have, I can t think of a thing to wish for. But I will let you go anyway. The fisherman unhooked the fish from his line. Thank you, kind sir. Bye-bye! And with that the fish swam away, deep down under the water. The fisherman hurried home. He couldn t wait to tell his wife what had happened. Wife! Wife! The most amazing thing has happened! 43
What is it, dear? Did you catch a lot of fish? Well, no. I didn t catch any. But I met a talking fish, a magic fish. He said I could have anything I wished for. How wonderful! So, what did you ask this magic fish for? Nothing. I told him I was happy with what I had. True, we are happy, but there must be something you could have wished for. What about a new house? I thought you were happy in our hut. I am, but a lovely cottage might make me happier. Won t you please go ask the fish for a lovely cottage? If you wish. So the fisherman went back to the sea to ask the fish for a cottage. He stood in his boat and called out to the fish. Yoo-hoo, magic fish, come out of the sea! My wife has a wish, so she has sent me. The fish popped his head out of the water. What is her wish, my friend? She would like a lovely cottage. So be it. Go home and you will find one. And the fish swam away, deep down under the water. 44
The fisherman ran home to see if his wish had come true. He couldn t believe what he saw! His wife was sitting in front of a beautiful cottage. Welcome to our new home, my husband. Your fish has done a wonderful job! That he has. The fish is very kind. Oh, we will be so happy in this cottage! Yes, but... But what? This cottage is indeed lovely, but it s still a little small. I would like to live in a magnificent castle! A castle? Whatever would we do with a castle? It would make me happier. Please, husband. Go and ask your fish friend for a magnificent castle. If you wish. So the fisherman set off once again to find the fish. He rowed his boat to the middle of the sea and called for the fish. Yoo-hoo, magic fish, come out of the sea! My wife has a wish, so she has sent me. The fish popped his head out of the water. Another wish? Doesn t she like the cottage? 45
Oh, yes. The cottage is lovely. But now my wife wants a magnificent castle. A castle? So be it. Go home and you will find one. Oh thank you, dear fish! You are most kind. And the fish swam away, deep down under the water. The fisherman ran home to find his wife standing in front of an enormous castle! Welcome to our new home, my husband. Isn t this a magnificent castle? Yes, it is. The fish was very, very kind. Yes, he was. But... But what? What good is living in a castle if you aren t king? But I don t want to be king. Well, if you don t, I do! Go ask your fish friend to make me queen! But I have already asked him for too much. I can t ask him for more! Please, husband. Then I will be happy. Well, all right. But this is the last time. So, the fisherman went to call upon the fish one more time. 46
Yoo-hoo, magic fish, come out of the sea! My wife has a wish, so she has sent me. The fish popped his head out of the water. (annoyed) What could your wife want now? Isn t the castle enough? She loves the castle. But now she wants to be queen. Queen? Isn t she happy being a fisherman s wife? I thought she was. But I guess she wants more now. Queen, huh? Well, so be it. Go home and you will find one. And the fish swam away, deep down under the water. The fisherman hurried home to see if his wish had come true. Was his wife really made queen? As soon as the fisherman saw his wife, he knew that the answer was yes. She was sitting on a golden throne, wearing a beautiful jeweled crown. My wife! Are you really queen? I am. And you must call me Your Majesty. Yes, Your Majesty. And are you happy being queen? Well, yes, but... Don t tell me! 47
Well, it s fine to rule over all of the people. But I want to be even more powerful. I want to rule over the sun and the moon! Wife! I mean, Your Majesty, you can t be serious! I am. Go and ask your fish for what I wish. I will not! You are not being fair! You will do as I say. I am your queen! Yes, Your Majesty. So the fisherman wearily called for the fish again. Yoo-hoo, magic fish, come out of the sea! My wife has a wish, so she has sent me. The fish popped his head out of the water. (angrily) I don t believe it! Now what does she want? (sadly) My dear fish friend, I am so sorry to keep bothering you. My wife now wants to rule over the sun and the moon. Enough is enough! Go home now. Your wife is back in her hut. She isn t a queen anymore, only a fisherman s wife. That s what happens when you ask for too much. The fisherman hung his head. He was so ashamed. Don t be sad. Remember how happy the two of you once were. Try to be happy again. 48
The fisherman returned home. Many years passed. The fisherman and his wife were still living in their hut. Husband, it has been many years since you met the magic fish. Since then, nothing has changed. We live in the same hut by the sea. You go fishing every day. I keep our hut clean and prepare fine meals for us. And guess what? What? I don t want anything else. Nor do I, my wife. We have everything we need. So if you are ever down by the sea, look for a small hut. There you will find a very happy fisherman and his very happy wife. THE END 49
Teaching Notes Words to Preview hut tugging cottage enormous magnificent annoyed throne Your Majesty powerful wearily The Fisherman and His Wife About This Play The Fisherman and His Wife is another tale collected and published by the Brothers Grimm. Accompanying a retelling of the tale in his Book of Virtues, William J. Bennett summarized the moral of this tale: We should know that too much of anything, even a good thing, may prove to be our undoing, as this old tale shows. We need to recognize when enough is enough. Questions Before Reading Have you ever wished for something? If so, what did you wish for and why? Did you get what you wished for? What would you wish for if you could have anything? The Fisherman and His Wife Questions After Reading In what kind of place did the fisherman and his wife live at the beginning of the play? Did the fisherman wish for anything at first? Explain. Why do you think the fish got mad at the end of the play? Extension Activity Ask students what is special about the way the fisherman calls for the fish. Then put four rhyming words on the board. Ask students what those words have in common. Have students write their own poems calling for the fish. Word combinations could include: fish, wish, swish, dish or sea, me, be, three. Students can use the words in any order they choose. To extend the activity, incorporate the new poems when reading the play again. CHaraCTers Narrator 1 Narrator 2 Fisherman Fisherman s Wife Fish 42 Folk & Fairy Tale Plays for Building Fluency 2010 by Carol Pugliano-Martin, Scholastic Teaching Resources
Student s Name: Date: Grade: Reading Passage: Rubric for Assessing Oral Fluency In each category, circle the number that best describes the student s performance. Accuracy 4 Word recognition is excellent; self-corrections are few and successful. 3 Word recognition is good; self-corrects successfully. 2 1 Word recognition is marginal. Reader struggles with many words; many unsuccessful attempts at self-correction. Word recognition is poor. Reader struggles with decoding. Multiple attempts to decode meet with little success. Expression and Volume Reads with good expression; sounds like natural language; 4 varies expression and volume to match interpretation of the passage. Occasionally slips into flat reading; sounds like natural language 3 most of the time; voice volume is generally appropriate. Reads with some expression; begins to make text sound like natural language 2 sometimes; focus remains largely on saying the words; reads in a quiet voice. Reads with little expression; little sense of trying to make text 1 sound like natural language; tends to read in a quiet voice. Phrasing 4 Generally well phrased, mostly in clause and sentence units. Mixture of run-ons, mid-sentence pauses for breath, and 3 possibly some choppiness; reasonable stress and intonation. Frequent choppy reading; improper stress and intonation 2 that fail to mark ends of sentences and clauses. Monotonic with little sense of phrase boundaries; 1 frequent word-by-word reading. Smoothness Generally smooth reading with some breaks; word and 4 structure difficulties are resolved quickly; usually self-corrects. Occasional breaks in smoothness caused by difficulties 3 with specific words and/or structures. Occasional extended pauses, hesitations, and so on, 2 that are frequent and disruptive. Frequent extended pauses, hesitations, sound-outs, 1 repetitions, or multiple attempts. Pace 4 Consistently conversational and appropriate. 3 Uneven mixture of fast and slow reading. 2 Moderately slow (or overly and inappropriately fast). 1 Slow and laborious. Source: Adapted from Training Teachers to Attend to Their Students Oral Reading Fluency, by J. Zutell and T.V. Rasinski, Theory Into Practice, Volume 30, Number 3, pp. 211 217 (1991). Used with permission of the authors.