Once upon a time, something happened. If it had not happened, it would not be told.
There was once a young fisherman who was neither very wealthy nor very poor. He was a fine-looking fellow, known for his handsome features and a mustache that curled fiercely at the ends. Whenever he passed the imperial palace, the Emperor’s daughter would send for him to buy his fish, paying him ten times what they were worth.
Our fisherman became accustomed to this wealth. Whenever he caught fresh fish, he took them straight to the palace; indeed, not a day passed that the princess did not buy from him if he happened to pass by. One day, while paying for the fish, the princess gently pressed his hand. The fisherman blushed as red as a beet and cast down his eyes, but not before offering her a loving glance, for he understood that she welcomed his affection.
They began to converse, and he took great care to speak with wit and elegance. During their next meeting, he spoke at length, making her realize that he understood her feelings and that the fire of love burning in her heart was mirrored in his own. As their bond grew, the princess learned he was unmarried. Charmed by his cleverness and attraction, she finally fell deeply in love with him. She gave him a purse filled with money to purchase handsome clothes and told him to return afterward to present himself to her.
After he had bought garments like those worn by gentlemen, he put them on and returned to the princess. She would scarcely have recognized him, for even his gait and bearing had become as dignified as a noble’s. At last, unable to repress the love glowing in her heart, the Emperor’s daughter told him that she would marry him. Though the fisherman knew such a station was far above his reach, he accepted her hand with many blushes once he realized she was not jesting.
The marriage did not exactly please the Emperor, but as he loved his daughter dearly and she was his only child, he yielded to her wishes. The princess gave the fisherman another purse of money for even finer garments. When he returned in clothes that glittered with gold, the monarch betrothed them, and a magnificent imperial wedding was celebrated.
When the company sat down to enjoy the banquet, a soft-boiled egg—which, according to ancient custom, only the bride and bridegroom were permitted to eat—was brought to the wedded pair. Just as the husband was about to dip a piece of bread into the egg, the princess stopped him, saying, “I must dip first, because I am the daughter of an Emperor, and you are only a fisherman.”
The bridegroom made no reply. He simply rose from the table and vanished. The guests, who did not know what had happened, looked at one another in surprise, for they had not heard that the Emperor’s son-in-law had formerly been a fisherman. The bride immediately repented her pride, biting her lips and wringing her hands in grief. She ate what she was compelled to swallow, but it brought her no comfort; she felt as though every morsel was bitter.
After the feast, she went to her room, but she could not close her eyes all night long. She thought of her bridegroom so constantly that she feared she would fall ill from longing. Her greatest sorrow was that she did not know why he had left without saying a single word. The next day, she told the Emperor that she was seized with such a great longing for her husband that she would follow him until he was found. The Emperor tried to detain her, but she would not listen and set out on her journey.
She searched up and down the city but did not find him anywhere. She wandered from place to place until she eventually found him serving in a tavern. As soon as she saw him, she went up and spoke to him, but he pretended not to know her, turned his head away, and went about his business. The princess followed him everywhere, begging him to say just one word to her, but in vain. When the landlord saw that the stranger was interrupting the work, he said, “Why don’t you let my servant finish his work in peace? Don’t you see he is dumb? Be kind enough to go away, if you are a respectable woman.”
“He is not dumb!” she cried. “This is my husband, who fled from me because of a fault of mine.”
All the people in the tavern stood still in astonishment, but the landlord could not believe it. He thought it impossible for a man who could speak to live a whole week without saying a word, and everyone there knew him only as a mute, industrious man who communicated through signs.
The princess then entered into an agreement with them all: she would induce him to speak within three days, but if she failed, she would be hanged. This agreement was put in writing and shown to the magistrates for their sanction. For three days, the Emperor’s daughter never left his side. “My beloved husband,” she said, “you know I am to blame. I chose you because I loved you; I swear I will never commit such a blunder again. Have pity on me, speak one word to me, and save me from this disgrace.”
The fisherman merely shrugged his shoulders and continued to pretend he did not know her. Two days passed, and he did not say a word. On the third day, the princess grew terrified, following him everywhere and beseeching him to speak. But the fisherman, though he felt himself softening, pretended his heart was made of ice so that she might not overcome him with her tears.
At last, the third day passed in silence. The next day, the gallows was ready, and the entire population gathered to witness the end of the affair. The magistrates were summoned to the place to execute the agreement. The executioner called upon the princess to submit to the penalty. Sobbing bitterly, she turned once more to the fisherman, trying to soften his heart, but in vain. When she saw that no escape was possible, she loosed her hair and walked toward the place of execution, wailing so piteously that it was enough to make even wood and stone weep for her.
On reaching the gallows, she gazed hopefully at the man once more, but he stood unmoved. “My dear husband, save me from death; do not let me perish so ignominiously. Speak but one word and I shall be delivered.” But the man only shrugged his shoulders and looked away.
The executioner stood with the noose in his hand and led her up the ladder. One moment more, and the princess would have been dead. But just as the executioner was about to let her swing, the fisherman raised his hand and shouted, “Hi! Hi! Stop!”
They all stood motionless as tears of joy streamed from every eye. The executioner took the noose from her neck. Then the fisherman, looking at the royal maiden, asked three times, “Will you ever say ‘fisherman’ to me again?”
“Forgive me, my dear husband,” the princess replied, “I only said it once by mistake. I promise you never to do so again.”
“Let her come down,” he said, “she is my wife.”
He took her by the hand, and they went home together. Afterward, they lived in peace and happiness, and if they haven’t died, they are living still.
Into the saddle then I sprung, this tale to tell to old and young.
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