English Original
Once upon a time, there was an old fisherman. He went fishing very early every morning but never cast his net more than four times a day.
One morning, he went out early to the sea. He cast his net for the first time and drew in the body of an animal. He cast it a second time and drew in an old basket full of sand. He cast it a third time and drew in a lot of stones. It seemed he would have nothing to take home that morning.
Day had now broken, and he cast his net for the last time. After a while, he began to draw the net in. He found it was very heavy, but there were no fish in it. Instead, he found a jar with a lid. He shook the jar but heard nothing. So he took off the lid and looked inside, seeing nothing. After a while, a light smoke came slowly out of the jar. Little by little, the smoke grew heavier and thicker until finally it turned into a terrible Genie!
"Get down on your knees," said the Genie, "for I'm going to kill you."
"Why? Didn't I set you free from the jar?"
"That's why I'm going to kill you, but I'll let you choose how you're going to die."
"But why?"
"Listen, and I will tell you my story."
"I was one of the spirits in heaven. But I did not want to obey Solomon's orders. So one day, he put me in this jar and threw it into the sea.
"During the first hundred years of my stay in the sea, I promised that if anyone set me free, I would make him very rich. But no one came. During the second hundred years, I promised that if anyone set me free, I would show him all the treasures in the world. But still no one came. During the third hundred years, I promised that if anyone came to set me free, I would make him king over the earth.
"Still no one came. Then I became very angry and decided that if anyone should set me free, I would kill him at once. Now you have come and set me free. So you must die, but I will let you say how you want to die."
The fisherman was not frightened. He said: "Since I must die, I must. But before I die, answer me one question."
"All right, but be quick."
"Were you really in the jar? You are so big and the jar is so small that it could hardly hold one of your feet."
"Of course I was in the jar. Don't you believe me?"
"No, and I won't until I've seen you in the jar with my own eyes."
When he heard this, the Genie changed into smoke. Slowly the smoke went back into the jar. When all of it was in the jar, the fisherman quickly put the lid on and threw it back into the sea.
中文翻译
从前，有一位老渔夫。他每天清晨都去捕鱼，但一天撒网从不超过四次。
一天早上，他早早出海。他第一次撒网，捞上来一只动物的尸体。第二次撒网，捞上来一个装满沙子的旧篮子。第三次撒网，捞上来许多石头。看来那天早上他要空手而归了。
天已破晓，他撒下了最后一次网。过了一会儿，他开始收网。他发现网很重，但里面一条鱼也没有。相反，他发现了一个带盖子的罐子。他摇了摇罐子，但什么也没听到。于是他打开盖子往里看，什么也没看见。过了一会儿，一缕轻烟慢慢从罐子里冒出来。渐渐地，烟雾变得越来越浓重，最后变成了一个可怕的精灵！
"跪下，"精灵说，"因为我要杀了你。"
"为什么？难道不是我把你从罐子里放出来的吗？"
"正因为如此，我才要杀你，但我会让你选择怎么死。"
"但这是为什么？"
"听着，我来告诉你我的故事。"
"我本是天上的一个精灵。但我不愿服从所罗门的命令。于是有一天，他把我关进这个罐子，扔进了大海。"
"在海里的头一百年里，我发誓，如果有人放我自由，我会让他变得非常富有。但没有人来。第二个一百年里，我发誓，如果有人放我自由，我会向他展示世界上所有的宝藏。但仍然没有人来。第三个一百年里，我发誓，如果有人来放我自由，我会让他成为世界之王。"
"还是没有人来。于是我变得非常愤怒，决定如果有人放我自由，我就立刻杀了他。现在你来了，放我自由。所以你必须死，但我会让你说你想怎么死。"
渔夫并不害怕。他说："既然我必须死，那我就死吧。但在我死之前，回答我一个问题。"
"好吧，但要快点。"
"你真的在这个罐子里待过吗？你这么大，罐子这么小，连你的一只脚都几乎装不下。"
"我当然在罐子里待过。你不相信我吗？"
"不信，除非我亲眼看到你回到罐子里。"
听到这话，精灵变成了烟雾。烟雾慢慢地回到了罐子里。当所有烟雾都进入罐子后，渔夫迅速盖上盖子，把它扔回了大海。