The Fisherman and His Wife - Board Story

This post is part of a series of posts about "Telling One Story Five Ways." It is also my Flannel Friday contribution for this week.

Many children's librarians use the flannel/magnet board with only very young children to display figures for counting rhymes and other similiar early literacy activities. Flannel/magnet boards are also great for storytelling. The figures on the board provide visual clues to help young listeners focus on the story but still allows them to imagine the action.

A simplified version of "The Fisherman and His Wife" can be found in Stories That Stick: Quick and Easy Storyboard Tales by Valerie Marsh (Upstart, 2001). It is called "Magic Fish" and patterns for the figures are in the book. Since the patterns are used for other stories in the book as well, they do not quite work with this storytelling project so I have created my own story and patterns.

The Fisherman and His Wife

Linda Meuse

Notes from the Story Room

Long ago there was a poor fisherman who lived with his wife in a tiny little shack by the sea. Even though he went fishing every day, the fisherman never caught many fish. Sometimes he caught one or two and sometimes none at all.

One day the fisherman went down to the sea to fish as usual. The waves were high as he went out in his little boat. The fisherman feared he would catch nothing that day but much to his surprise there was a tug on his line as soon as he put it in the water. The fisherman pulled up a huge fish. It was like none he had ever seen before. Just as the fisherman was about to pull it into his boat, the fish spoke. "Please spare my life!" said the fish. "I will grant you a wish if you do." The surprised fisherman let the fish go. "I could not harm a fish that can talk," he said as he watched the fish swim away.

The fisherman returned home and told his wife about his strange experience. "What did you wish for?" she immediately asked. "I forgot all about the wish because I was so surprised," he replied. "Go back right now and ask for a nice house. I'm tired of living is this run-down shack. You spared his life so he has to do what you ask." Reluctantly the fisherman went to the edge of the sea and called, "Oh wondrous fish, my wife has a wish." The fish quickly appeared. "What does she want?" asked the fish. "She wants to live in a nice house," answered the fisherman. "Her wish is granted," said the fish as it disappeared back into the sea. When the fisherman returned home there was a lovely house where the shack had been.

Is that the end of the story? No. A week later the wife said to the fisherman, "This house is not big enough. Go back to the fish and ask for a fine mansion with servants." The fisherman went back to the edge of the sea and called, "Oh wondrous fish, my wife has a wish." "What does she want?" asked the fish popping up above the waves. "She wants a bigger house. She wants a mansion with servants," answered the fisherman. "Her wish is granted," said the fish as it went back into the sea. When the fisherman returned home he found a fine mansion where the house had been.

Is that the end of the story? No. A week later the wife decided that the mansion was not enough. She said, "We should be living in a castle and I should be Queen and you the King." "I don't want to be King!" replied the fisherman. "Fine," said the wife, "I will be King instead." She made the fisherman go back to the edge of the sea to call the fish. "Oh wondrous fish, my wife has a wish," called the fisherman. "What does she want now?" asked the fish coming up from the water. The fisherman answered, "She wants to live in a castle and be King of this land." "Her wish is granted," said the fish as it dove back into the sea. When fisherman returned home he found a castle where the mansion had been. Inside his wife sat on a throne wearing a crown.

Is that the end of the story? No. A week later the wife decided that being King of the land was not enough. She wanted to be Emperor of the world and live in a huge palace. Again she made her poor husband go back to the edge of the sea to call the fish. "Oh wondrous fish, my wife has a wish," called the fisherman. Again the fish rose out of the sea. "What does she want?" asked the fish. "She wants to be Emperor of the world and live in a huge palace," said the fisherman. "Her wish is granted," said the fish. The fisherman returned home to find a huge palace where the castle had been. It took him an entire day to find his wife in the huge palace. She was sitting on an even bigger throne wearing an even bigger crown than before.

Is that the end of the story? No. A week later the fisherman found his wife staring up at the sky. She turned to him and said, "Go back to the fish and tell him that I want to be Ruler of the entire universe and have an even bigger palace up on the moon." Sadly the fisherman went to the edge of the sea calling, "Oh wondrous fish, my wife has a wish." "What does she want this time?" asked the fish coming up out of the sea. "She wants to be Ruler of the universe and have an even bigger palace on the moon," replied the fisherman. "I cannot grant that wish. No one can rule the stars and the moon. She must return to the home that she deserves," said the fish as it dove into the sea. The fisherman returned home to find that the huge palace was gone and their miserable shack was back. There the fisherman and his wife lived for the rest of their lives. The wondrous fish was never seen again.

Is that the end of the story? Yes!

Notes: It is fairly easy to find clip art to use for this story. I found similar pieces for a similar story, "The Little Old Woman Who Lived in a Vinegar Bottle," using clip art from Microsoft Publisher. You can tell the story without using the buildings. I would recommend making the crowns to put on the fisherman's wife. Keep the wife at the top of the board and bring the fisherman to the bottom of the board when he goes to see the fish. Be sure to make the fish look unusual and magical (I added some glitter glue).

This week's Flannel Friday is hosted by Lucy of In the Children's Room.