Wonder Teller
Cover of The Fisherman and His Wife: A Gentle Retelling
Folktales & LegendsPicture bookLevel 4Ages 3–5

The Fisherman and His Wife: A Gentle Retelling

English · 23 pages · 862 words · 7 min read

A gentle retelling for listeners ages 3–5 of the Brothers Grimm tale “The Fisherman and His Wife”: a poor fisherman lets a talking flounder go, and his wife sends him back to wish for more and more, from a cottage to a castle to a crown, while the sea grows darker, until she ends up back in their little hut.

Read first 4 pages
Original work by
Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm
Translated by
Margaret Hunt
Adapted by
Wonder Teller

A look inside

The opening of The Fisherman and His Wife: A Gentle Retelling, free to read.

  1. Illustration from page 2 of The Fisherman and His Wife: A Gentle Retelling

    Long ago, a fisherman and his wife lived in a hovel, a poor little hut by the sea. One day, tug! The fisherman’s line sank deep, and up came a big, flat fish, a flounder.

  2. Illustration from page 3 of The Fisherman and His Wife: A Gentle Retelling

    “Please let me live!” said the Flounder. “I am really an enchanted prince, under a magic spell.” “A fish that talks? I would let you go anyway,” said the fisherman. Splash! Back went the Flounder.

  3. Illustration from page 4 of The Fisherman and His Wife: A Gentle Retelling

    At home, his wife cried, “You caught a magic fish and did not wish for anything? Go back and ask him for a little cottage!” He did not want to ask. But she did, so off he went.

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