Week 5 Story: The Fish Princess

How did it end like this?

One day, I’m living in a castle, being adorned by all, the most beautiful princess the world had ever seen.  Princes came from far and wide to ask for my hand, but of course, none of them matched up.  And then, I’m kidnapped by a witch, turned into a fish, and forced to live in the lake, only able to shed my fish skin and return to human form for a few hours once a day. Not even enough time to return home without turning back into a fish and dying from not being able to breath. 

But then one day, a young fisherman caught me in his net. I watched as he began to skin the other fish and thought, “Surely this is not how my life is meant to end.” But when he picked me up, he paused, stared at me for moment, and put me in a bucket of water.  He then took me back to his house and placed me in a glass tank. “So I am his pet?” I thought. “Well, I suppose this is better than having to fend for myself in the lake, or being someone's dinner.”

And so, for a few days, I was just his pet fish.  Occasionally, he would stoop by the tank and talk to me - as if he expected a reply - and tell me about his day, his neighbors, and how much he longed to find his true love.  Listening to him, watching him day in and day out, I quickly fell in love and yearned to show him my true identity.  So one day, when he went to go fish, I hopped from the tank, shed my fish skin, and turned into my human self, ready to greet him when he came home.  But then, worried he would be frightened and mistake me as a witch, I decided it wouldn't be a good idea.  Longing to show him my affection but too scared to reveal myself just yet, I thought, “I know, I’ll write him a sweet love note and leave it on his door step.” So, that’s what I did.  I then grabbed my fish skin and returned to the tank. 

When he returned home, he was delighted to read the note and very eager to meet the mystery maiden who had left it for him.  And so each day, I waited until he left and wrote these notes, delighting in seeing his reaction when he read them.  Then one day, hoping to finally see the maiden, he didn't go fishing, but instead left the house, walked away thinking the maiden might be waiting for him to leave, and quickly came back to sneak through the back door.

Not knowing of his plan, and not realizing he came back, I hopped out of the tank and turned into my human self.  Seeing my transformation and realizing that I was his mystery maiden, he then grabbed the fish skin off the floor and tossed it into the fireplace.  When the fish skin had been burned, I felt the witch's curse being broken.  I was finally free.  And without wasting a moment, the fisherman took my hand and asked me to marry him, to which I couldn't reply "Yes!" fast enough.

And so here I am, on my wedding day, back in my castle, and finally marrying my prince.  How did it end like this?  Better than I could have ever imagined.  

Author's Note: This story is a retelling of the "The Fish-Peri" by Ignacz Kunos.  The original fairy tale tells the story of a young fisherman who catches a fish that is too fine to sell or eat, so he takes it home and keeps it in a well.  When he is away, he comes back home and finds that his house has been cleaned.  The young man eventually hides in his house to catch the person responsible and sees the fish transform into a maiden of exceeding beauty.  I started my story off similarly to the original, but I decided to make the maiden a princess and to tell the story from her point of view, instead of third-person like the original.  I also gave her a back story to explain how she became a fish.  And instead having her clean his house, I had her write him love notes.  In the original, the fisherman tosses the fish skin into a fire, to which the maiden disapproves of, but then consents to marry him.  In my story, I made it so we could see the maiden falling in love with the fisherman, and that burning the fish skin meant breaking the witch's spell so they could live happily ever after.

Bibliography: "The Fish-Peri" from Turkish Fairy Tales by Ignacz Kunos.  Source: The Fish-Peri

Image info:  Fish drawing by Avia Venefica. Source: Flickr