You would have thought the golden fish would have splashed with his
tail, and turned head downwards, and swum away into the blue depths of
the sea. Not a bit of it. It stayed there with its tail slowly
flapping in the water so as to keep its head up, and it looked at the
fisherman with its wise eyes, and it spoke again.

"You have given me my life," says the golden fish. "Now ask anything
you wish from me, and you shall have it."

The old fisherman stood there on the shore, combing his beard with his
old fingers, and thinking. Think as he would, he could not call to
mind a single thing he wanted.

"No, fish," he said at last; "I think I have everything I need,"

"Well, if ever you do want anything, come and ask for it," says the
fish, and turns over, flashing gold, and goes down into the blue sea.

The old fisherman went back to his hut, where his wife was waiting for
him.

"What!" she screamed out; "you haven't caught so much as one little
fish for our supper?"

"I caught one fish, mother," says the old man: "a golden fish it was,
and it spoke to me; and I let it go, and it told me to ask for
anything I wanted."

"And what did you ask for? Show me."