English Original
There was once a fisherman who lived with his wife in a miserable hovel by the sea. One day, he caught a large flounder. To his surprise, the fish spoke: "Let me live! I am an enchanted prince. I am not good to eat." The kind fisherman released him.
When he returned home empty-handed, his wife was upset. "You should have wished for something!" she exclaimed. "Go back and ask for a cottage." Reluctantly, the fisherman went to the sea and called:
Flounder, flounder in the sea,
Come, I pray thee, here to me;
For my wife, good Ilsabil,
Wills not as I'd have her will.
The flounder appeared and granted the wish. The hovel became a fine cottage. But soon, the wife grew dissatisfied. "This is too small. Go back and ask for a stone castle." The fisherman, with a heavy heart, returned to the sea, which had turned dark and choppy. He repeated his call, and the wish was granted again.
Yet, the wife's greed was endless. She demanded to be king, then emperor, then pope. Each time, the fisherman returned to a sea growing ever more stormy and terrifying to plead with the flounder. Each time, her wish was granted, and her power and riches grew.
Finally, lying awake at dawn, she had her most audacious thought. "Husband," she said, poking him. "I wish to be like God, to command the sun and moon to rise."
Horrified, the fisherman protested, but she insisted. Trembling with fear, he went to the shore amidst a furious storm. The sea was black, with waves as high as mountains. He cried out his rhyme one last time.
"Well, what does she want now?" asked the flounder.
"Alas," said the man, "she wants to be like God."
"Go home," said the flounder. "You will find her back in the dirty hovel."
And there they lived, poor as before, to this very day.
中文翻译
从前，有个渔夫和他的妻子住在海边一个破旧的小屋里。一天，他钓到了一条大比目鱼。令他惊讶的是，鱼开口说话了：“放了我吧！我是被施了魔法的王子。我的肉不好吃。”善良的渔夫把它放了。
当他空手回家时，他的妻子很不高兴。“你应该许个愿的！”她喊道。“回去，向他要一座小房子。”渔夫不情愿地回到海边，呼唤道：
海里的比目鱼，比目鱼，
请你游到我跟前；
我的妻子叫伊尔莎比尔，
她的想法和我的不一样。
比目鱼出现了，并实现了愿望。破屋变成了一座漂亮的小屋。但很快，妻子又不满足了。“这太小了。回去，要一座石头城堡。”渔夫心情沉重地回到海边，此时海水已变得黑暗汹涌。他重复了他的呼唤，愿望再次实现。
然而，妻子的贪欲没有尽头。她要求成为国王，然后是皇帝，接着是教皇。每一次，渔夫都回到变得越来越狂暴可怕的海边，向比目鱼祈求。每一次，她的愿望都得以实现，她的权力和财富不断增长。
最后，在黎明时分，她躺着睡不着，产生了最大胆的念头。“丈夫，”她捅了捅他说，“我希望像上帝一样，能命令太阳和月亮升起。”
渔夫惊恐地反对，但她坚持己见。他吓得浑身发抖，在猛烈的风暴中来到岸边。大海一片漆黑，巨浪如山。他最后一次喊出了他的韵文。
“那么，她现在想要什么？”比目鱼问。
“唉，”男人说，“她想成为上帝一样的存在。”
“回家去吧，”比目鱼说。“你会发现她又回到了那个肮脏的小屋。”
从那时起，他们一直住在那里，和以前一样贫穷，直到今天。