The Golden Fish

Once upon a time, there lived an old fisherman and his wife in a small hut by the sea. Every day, the fisherman would go out to sea to catch fish for their dinner.

One day, he caught a beautiful golden fish. To his surprise, the fish spoke to him, "Please let me go, kind fisherman. I am a magical fish and I will grant you a wish if you release me."

The fisherman was a kind-hearted man and he released the fish without asking for anything in return. When he returned home and told his wife about the golden fish, she became angry.

"You foolish man!" she exclaimed. "We live in this tiny hut and you didn't ask for anything? Go back and ask the fish for a new house!"

The fisherman reluctantly returned to the sea and called out to the golden fish. The fish appeared and granted their wish for a new house.

But the fisherman's wife was not satisfied. Each day, she sent him back to ask for more and more - a palace, servants, to be a queen, and finally to be ruler of the land and sea.

The golden fish granted each wish, but with each request, the sea grew darker and stormier. Finally, when the wife demanded to be ruler of the universe, the fish had enough.

When the fisherman returned home that evening, he found his wife sitting in their old hut by the sea, just as they had started. She had learned that greed leads to nothing but loss, and from that day forward, they lived simply but happily.