The Fish Princess

The Fish Princess

Once upon a time, a little girl and her family lived in a thatched hut on the edge of the kingdom. Her father, who was an indentured farmer, struggled to provide for his little wife and two children. The family was poor, but they worked hard to help eachother. The farmer's wife cooked, and cleaned, and spun thread, and wove cloth. The children caught fish from a nearby river that ran through the center of the kingdom.

Now, although most of the villagers were as poor as this family, the river was always rich with fish. These fish, though often seen jumping and splashing, were very hard to catch. It seemed that they were only able to be caught by hand, and the only ones who fished by hand were the children. There were not many children, because often in those days, parents could not afford to keep them.

One day, a terrible accident transpired in the king's fields. A serpent spooked one of the enormous ploughing horses. It began kicking wildly, raging out of control. The farmer, who tried to stop it, was trampled to death.

The little family was devistated when it heard. They kney they could no longer stay in their straw hut, because the lord who owned the land needed a strong farmer to live there and tend to his crops. The little boy, Hans, was barely ten years old, and not suited for such duties. His little mother, overflowing with grief, took him by the hand and lead him out of the cottage. "We will go to the West," she told him, "and you will be an apprentice." But to the little girl, Charlotte, she said, "You must not come with us. There will not be enough food for you." So the little mother kissed her on the forehead, gave her a piece of bread, and the girl went down to the river.

When she reached into the current, she caught a big green pike. "Fish, oh green fish," she asked, "Tell me what I am to do. My family is gone, and I am quite afraid that I shall die." The fish stared up at her with empty eyes, and flopped. It was so big and strong that it flopped right out of her hands, and back into the stream.

From this day forward, the girl stayed and lived by the river. She would catch marvelous fish all day, but eat only one. The others, she said, whispered in her ear. As the days passed, the other villagers became concerned for the girl, for she was now dirty and very thin. They called her the fish girl, because she always said that she could understand the fish, and they were talking to her. Once, a family offered to give her some old clothes, and a piece of bread. She thanked them for their kindness, but gave them to another child who came to play at the river. The fish, she said, told her that it was not the time to accept favors yet. "Be patient."

A year passed. The plight of the fish girl was almost forgotten, because the villagers were suffering themselves, now more than ever. The crops had failed, and the poor townspeople struggled to find enough food. Families would send their children down to the river, and the fish girl would hand them each something that she caught so that they would not starve. Even the king's own castle was running out of food.

One day the prince himself came down to the river. The grain supplies had run very low, and he and his men were hearing rumors that this part of the river was filled with delicious fish. He had also heard about a ragged orphan girl who gave fish to villagers who were in need.

When he saw the girl, he held his hand out to her. "Come back with me to the palace, and I will give you food and clothing. You can be my sister's servant. Living in the mud is no life for a kind girl like you."

"Oh, I would like that ever so much prince, but I beg of you one moment to bid my friends, the fish, farewell. It would be rude of me to simply leave them without saying goodbye.

The prince nodded his head. She thrust her hand into the water and pulled out a speckled trout. She held it close to her ear, and seemed to hear a voice. "What's that? Oh my!" she said, "Well, I hadn't thought of that. No, of course not!" She turned to the prince again. "I am terribly sorry, but I must stay here. This fish has told me that your crops will not recover this year. I am a skilled fish-catcher, and I must stay and feed the village."

The prince, though confused by her words, was moved by her selfless desire to serve his subjects. "Very well," he said, "But is there nothing that I can do for you?"

"If it would please your highness, give me the shoes from your feet. I am a little cold, and these rocks are quite sharp." Seeing the girl's exposed feet, the prince took off his own shoes and gave them to her. Then he returned home to his palace.

When he opened his dressing chest to put on another pair of shoes, he found a large bag of flour. It was big enough to bake bread for the entire court, and the flour was pure, and white like the moon.

A month passed, and no crops had grown. Supplies in the castle had run lower than ever, and in order to give his men food to eat, the prince went down to the river again. Try as they might to catch fish, what they caught was little and few. The prince spoke to the fish girl again, who was still wearing his shoes. Astonishingly, they did not even have a speck of dirt on them.

He got down from his horse, and approached her. "My castle is running out of food. Please, help us catch fish. If you do so, you may live in the palace. Not as a servant, but as a free and noble woman."

"I will help you," said the maiden, "but I must not leave this river bank, because the villagers are hungry too." As she spoke, she pulled a great salmon from the stream, as long as the prince's arm. Closing her eyes to listen, she fell silent.

"How is it," The prince asked, after a few moments, "that you can catch such impressive fish, when my men cannot? Can you really speak to them?"

"Yes," she said, "I asked them for advice when I was in trouble. They are wise, and kind. When anyone is in dire need, the fish in this magical stream will reasure them."

"If that is the truth," Thought the prince, "it is incredible. I wish I had some advice right now."

"Do not worry," came a voice from the salmon. "Next season, your crops will grow higher than ever before."

The prince could not believe what he heard! "The fish! The fish spoke to me! You have been telling the truth!"

"They are wise," she said.

"And what, magical salmon, should I do now? I must feed my people before the baren season ends."

"Young prince, you are consumed with worry," said the fish. "But do not be afraid. Your people will be provided for."

Although the fish seemed quite certain, the prince was not so sure. But then, a hundred large salmon, bigger than the first one, lunged onto the bank of the river. The prince's men quickly tied them up, and decided to share them among everyone in the kingdom. The prince's faith was restored, and the people cheered. "How can I ever thank you?" he asked the fish girl.

"Give me a lock of hair from your head, if it would please your highness," she said. He cut the hair from his head, and she tied it neatly around her wrist. Although he wished the girl would come back with him to the palace, she had refused again. He returned with his men, and they made a plan to contact the neighboring kingdom and barter for food.

Afterward, he returned to his chamber. When he took out his comb to fix his hair, he found that each time he ran it through, a little flour came out of the comb. It was soft, and as white as the moon. when he had collected it all, it was five times more flour than had mysteriously appeared the first time. Yet even this and the fish together only fed the kingdom for a week. The negotiations with the neighboring kingdom had failed, because they were suffering in the same manner. The only hope left was the magic stream.

"I have come again," the prince said to the fish girl, "to ask more of you. This time, it is for my very life, and the lives of my people. We have failed to find food, and we must have fish from this stream. If you provide enough fish for my kingdom during this famine season, I will make you my queen."

But the girl said, "I must stay here. I belong here, with the river. There will be enough food, prince, I promise, but now I must ask for one more thing from you. Give me your trust, and do as I ask."

"You have it." He said.

"Then kiss me, and plunge yourself into the river."

Without hesitating, he kissed her, and jumped into the raging waves. The current pulled him under, and he did not surface again. Instead, a miracle happened. The fish girl reached into the water, grabbing a fish by the mouth. She splashed it against the surface three times, and the river began to burble and churn even more wildly. As it turned, it began to change. The fish in the river all disappeared into the earth, and the water became soft flour, as white as the moon, and there was enough to feed not only the entire kingdom until the famine was over, but the neighboring kingdom as well.    

The fish girl took the last fish that she had caught, and cut it up into strips of flesh. Using the prince's hair as thread, she sewed the pieces together into the form of a man. She filled the flesh with white flour from the river, and put the prince's shoes on its feet. She leaned over, and gave it a gentle kiss. The body covered with skin, but its eyes were closed. She took it to her old home, the little hut, and laid it down on a bed of straw by the door.

When it was night, the moon began to rise, and as it did, the prince's eyes opened. He turned to thank the fish princess, but she was gone.

After the famine year, the river ran with water again. Some villagers there say that when the moon is full, they see two lovers' faces in that stream. Others say that they see two mysterious giant fish, and still others that these are mermaids. What is for certain, though, is that whoever comes to the palace and asks for a fish will not be turned away.