The Fisherman and His Sons

The Fisherman and His Sons

Once, on the coast of the Basque country, a fisherman lived with his wife. Their cottage stood near the sea, and every morning the man set out in his boat before sunrise.

One day he cast his net and felt that something large had been caught. When he drew it in, a remarkable silver fish gleamed in the bottom of the boat.

Then it spoke.

“Good man, let me return to the sea. For your kindness, I will repay you.”

The fisherman was so astonished that he nearly dropped his oar.

“If you can speak, you have the right to ask for freedom,” he said, and he let the fish go.

That evening he returned home with empty hands.

“Where is the catch?” asked his wife.

The fisherman told her about the wonderful fish.

“You are kind,” she sighed, “but we need something to eat.”

The next day the same fish was caught in his net again.

“Let me go,” it asked. “I will see that your family does not suffer.”

The fisherman released it once more. When he reached shore, he found so many coins in his old bag that they could buy food and clothes and mend the boat.

Yet his wife still worried.

“What if this wonder never happens again?”

On the third day the fish appeared once more. The fisherman did not even wish to take it in his hands.

“Swim on,” he said. “I mean you no harm.”

The fish came closer.

“Then accept not money, but a gift for your home.”

It touched the side of the boat with its tail. Three silver scales remained on the wood.

“Place one beneath your wife’s pillow, one beside the stable, and one near the dog’s bed. Three sons will be born in your home, alike as three drops of water. The mare will have three matching foals, and the dog will have three matching puppies. Remember also this: the well behind your house will warn you of danger. If one of your sons needs help, its water will bubble.”

And so it happened.

In time, three sturdy boys grew up in the family. Even their mother sometimes laughed.

“It is fortunate that each of you has a different voice, because from behind I cannot tell you apart at all!”

Three matching horses and three great faithful dogs grew up with them.

When the brothers became adults, the eldest said, “I want to see the world.”

Their parents were worried, but they let him go. He took one horse and one dog and set out.

After many days he reached a city where no one laughed. Silent people stood in the streets, and dark ribbons hung on the doors of houses.

“What has happened?” asked the traveller.

They told him that a seven-headed serpent had made its home in the mountains. It frightened the city and demanded that people go to it one by one. Now the king’s daughter was expected to go.

“No one should have to go there alone,” said the young man.

He climbed into the mountains with his dog. By a cliff, the princess was already waiting.

“Go back,” she asked. “I do not want anyone else to suffer because of me.”

“We shall see who frightens whom,” said the young man.

Soon the serpent slid from its cave. All seven heads hissed together. The dog barked loudly and drew its attention, while the young man stood firm. The struggle was long, but at last the serpent lost its magic and fled far into the mountains, never returning to the city.

For proof, the young man gathered seven shining scales the serpent had shed. The princess tore seven little ribbons from the seven layers of her festive clothing.

“Let us go to my father,” she said. “He must know who saved the city.”

But the young man did not enjoy praise.

“You are safe. That is enough.”

He returned to the inn.

Meanwhile, a charcoal-burner found signs of the struggle near the cave and decided to claim the victory as his own. He came to the king and announced, “I drove away the serpent!”

The princess objected.

“No. I remember well the one who stood with me.”

But the true rescuer did not appear. A celebration for the charcoal-burner was about to begin when the princess saw the young man in the square.

“There he is!”

The king asked for proof. The young man showed the seven scales, and the princess showed the seven ribbons. They matched her story exactly.

The deception was uncovered. The charcoal-burner was sent away from the city, while the young man was invited to remain at court. In time, he and the princess grew to love one another and married.

One evening the young man looked from a window and saw a strange castle in the moonlight.

“What place is that?” he asked.

The princess grew anxious.

“No one goes there. They say that whoever enters does not return.”

Those very words woke his curiosity.

“I will only look.”

Inside the castle, an old witch met him and invited him to her table.

“Have only one bite.”

The moment the young man touched the enchanted food, a spell closed around him. He lost his human shape and could not find the way out.

At that same moment, far away by his parents’ home, the water in the well began to bubble.

“Something is wrong,” said the second brother. “I will go and find him.”

He took his own horse and dog, reached the same city, and everyone took him for the eldest brother. Even the princess did not see the difference at first.

That evening he too saw the mysterious castle. Despite the warning, he went there. The witch used the same trick, and the well at home bubbled again.

Then the third brother said, “Now it is my turn. I will not return without them.”

He reached the city as well. As he prepared to go to the castle, he met an old woman beside the road.

“Do not eat anything you are offered inside,” she warned. “The spell works through food. Here is an ordinary little pie. Offer it to the witch first.”

The third brother thanked her.

In the castle, the witch set a rich table before him.

“Eat,” she said.

“Later,” the young man replied. “First you must taste my pie. In my family, host and guest share food.”

The witch refused, but he held his ground. At last she took a bite. At once, her spell weakened.

“Where are my brothers?” asked the young man.

“I do not know,” she said.

The dog growled.

“You had better tell the truth.”

The witch understood that her tricks no longer worked. She opened a secret door. Behind it stood enchanted creatures.

“Restore everyone’s true shape,” said the brother, “and we will go without quarrelling.”

The witch touched each creature with a magic branch. One by one, the captives became people again. Among them appeared his two brothers. Their horses and dogs returned to their true forms as well.

All three brothers rode to the royal palace.

The people rubbed their eyes. Before them stood three identical young men.

The princess was confused.

“Which one is my husband?”

The eldest brother smiled and showed the seven serpent scales that he had carried with him all along.

“The one who would not leave you alone on the mountain.”

Then she recognised him.

The king thanked the two younger brothers generously for the rescue. The witch was ordered to leave those lands and never enchant anyone again. Her castle was given to the people of the city, and in time it became a great inn for travellers.

The brothers returned to their parents. When all three sons walked into the yard together, their mother cried with joy, and their father ran to the well.

The water was calm and clear.

“Then everything is well now,” he said.

From that day on, the three brothers often gathered together. Though each lived his own life, they knew that if one of them was in trouble, the other two would not wait to be asked.

And the sea murmured softly beside the old fisherman’s cottage, as if it remembered the silver fish from whom the whole remarkable story had begun.

May this story leave a little light in your heart ✨