The Golden Fish

Astra turned to him. "Don't be disrespectful! Can't you see what it is?"

"A fish floating above the water?"

"No! It's obviously The Magic Fish!"

Fred stared blankly at her.

"Once upon a time, there was a fisherman who caught a Golden Fish. The fish said he would grant him any wish, so the man goes went to ask his wife what to wish for. The man returns every day with bigger and bigger wishes, untill he basically wishes to take over the world. The wish said that because he'd been so greedy, never satisfied with any one of the things the fish gave him, he'd lose everything he'd gotten through the wishes."

Fred stared at her. "That's all?"

"Pretty much."

"That sounds like an old wives tale. 'Don't talk to strangers, or they will kidnap you', 'Don't leave any vegetables, or the monster will come and eat you', 'Don't get too greedy with magic beings, or they'll take back the stuff they gave you'!"

Astra stared coldly at Fred. "It's a traditional fairy tale from the Near East. It's called Skazka o rybake i rybke."

"Bless you."

"No, you jerk! It's the title of the story! It means The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish."

"Oh sure!"

"And I think that fish is the one from the story."

"Come on! It's obviously a story a some hapless writer wrote because he was angry at the local King!"

Astra gasped. "How can you say such a thing?"

"Face it, Astra. Even if this fish is magical, what are the chances it can grant wishes? I mean, not even the lamp we found back at the market was able to grant wishes!"

The fish was getting tired of this petty arguing. He opened his mouth and spoke.

1. "I can hear you, you know!"
2. "Which one of you bastards spat on me?"
3. However, nobody knew the language the fish was speaking in.
4. But only Velus understood what it said.

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