The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish
author Alexander Pushkin
An old man lived with his old woman They lived in a dilapidated dugout Exactly thirty years and three years. The old man was fishing with a net, The old woman was spinning her yarn. Once he cast a net into the sea, The net came with one slime. He threw a seine another time, – A seine came with sea grass. For the third time he threw a net, – A seine came with one fish, With a difficult fish – gold.
How the goldfish will beg! He says in a human voice: “Let me go, old man, into the sea, Dear for myself, I will give a ransom: I’ll buy whatever you want.” The old man was surprised, frightened: He fished for thirty years and three years And I never heard the fish speak. He released the goldfish And he said to her a kind word: “God be with you, goldfish! I don’t need your ransom; Step into the blue sea Walk there for yourself in the open.”
The old man returned to the old woman, He told her a great miracle. “Today I caught a fish, Goldfish, not simple; In our opinion, the fish spoke, The blue asked for a home in the sea, Paid off at a high price: I bought whatever I wanted. I did not dare to take a ransom from her; So he let her into the blue sea. The old woman scolded the old man: “You fool, you fool! You did not know how to take a ransom from a fish! If only you took a trough from her, Ours is completely broken.” So he went to the blue sea; He sees that the sea is slightly roaring.
He began to call a goldfish, A fish swam up to him and asked: “What do you want, old man?” The old man replies to her with a bow: “Have mercy, sovereign fish, My old woman scolded me Does not give the old man peace: She needs a new trough; Ours is completely broken.” The goldfish replies: “Do not be sad, go with God, You will have a new trough.” The old man returned to the old woman, The old woman has a new trough.
The old woman scolds even more: “You fool, you fool! Begged, fool, trough! Is there a lot of self-interest in the trough? Come back, fool, you are to the fish; Bow to her, ask for a hut already. So he went to the blue sea, (The blue sea is cloudy.) He began to call a goldfish, A fish swam up to him and asked: “What do you want, old man?” The old man replies to her with a bow: “Have mercy, empress fish! The old woman scolds even more, Does not give the old man peace: A grumpy woman asks for a hut. The goldfish replies: “Do not be sad, go with God, So be it: you will already have a hut.
He went to his dugout, And there is no trace of the dugout; In front of him is a hut with a lamp, With a brick, bleached pipe, With oak, plank gates. The old woman sits under the window, On what light is the husband scolds. “You fool, you straight-forward fool! Begged, simpleton, a hut! Come back, bow to the fish: I don’t want to be a black peasant I want to be a noblewoman.” The old man went to the blue sea; (The blue sea is not calm.) He began to call the goldfish.
A fish swam up to him and asked: “What do you want, old man?” The old man replies to her with a bow: “Have mercy, empress fish! More than ever, the old woman freaked out, Does not give the old man peace: She doesn’t want to be a peasant Wants to be a pillar noblewoman. The goldfish replies: “Do not be sad, go with God.” The old man turned to the old woman. What does he see? High tower.
On the porch stands his old woman In an expensive sable shower jacket, Brocade on the top of the kichka, Pearls weighed down the neck, On the hands of gold rings, On her feet are red boots. Before her are zealous servants; She beats them, drags them by the chuprun. The old man says to his old woman: “Hello, mistress madam noblewoman! Tea, now your darling is satisfied. The old woman yelled at him She sent him to serve at the stable.
Here’s a week, another one goes by The old woman fumed even more: Again he sends the old man to the fish. “Come back, bow to the fish: I don’t want to be a pillar noblewoman, And I want to be a free queen. The old man was frightened, he begged: “What are you, woman, overeating with henbane? You can’t step, you can’t speak, You will make the whole kingdom laugh.” The old woman got more angry, She hit her husband on the cheek.
“How dare you, man, argue with me, With me, a pillar noblewoman? — Go to the sea, they tell you with honor, If you don’t go, they will lead you involuntarily.” The old man went to the sea (The blue sea turned black.) He began to call the goldfish. A fish swam up to him and asked: “What do you want, old man?” The old man replies to her with a bow: “Have mercy, empress fish! Again my old woman rebels: She no longer wants to be a noblewoman, Wants to be a free queen.
The goldfish replies: “Do not be sad, go with God! Good! the old woman will be queen! The old man returned to the old woman. Well? before him are the royal chambers. In the wards he sees his old woman, She sits at the table like a queen, Boyars and nobles serve her, They pour her overseas wines; She eats a printed gingerbread; Around her stands a formidable guard, They hold axes on their shoulders.
As the old man saw, he was frightened! He bowed at the feet of the old woman, He said: “Hello, formidable queen! Well, now your darling is satisfied. The old woman did not look at him, She only ordered him to be driven out of sight. The boyars and nobles ran up, They pushed the old man in. And at the door, the guard ran up, I almost chopped it off with axes. And the people laughed at him: “To serve you, old ignoramus! Henceforth you, ignoramus, science:
Don’t get into your sleigh!” Here’s a week, another one goes by The old woman fumed even more: He sends courtiers for her husband, They found the old man, brought him to her. The old woman says to the old man: “Come back, bow to the fish. I don’t want to be a free queen I want to be the mistress of the sea, To live for me in the Okiyane-sea, To serve me a goldfish And I would have been on the parcels.
The old man did not dare to argue, He did not dare to speak across the word. Here he goes to the blue sea, He sees a black storm on the sea: So angry waves swelled, So they walk, so they howl and howl. He began to call the goldfish.
A fish swam up to him and asked: “What do you want, old man?” The old man replies to her with a bow: “Have mercy, empress fish! What am I to do with the damn woman? She doesn’t want to be queen Wants to be the mistress of the sea; To live for her in the Okiyane-sea, For you to serve her And she would have been on the parcels.
The fish didn’t say anything. Just splashed her tail on the water And she went into the deep sea. For a long time by the sea he waited for an answer, I did not wait, I returned to the old woman – Look: again in front of him is a dugout; On the threshold sits his old woman, And in front of her is a broken trough.
Ռուսլան Հովսեփյան, 