The Old Man and the Crab

Once upon a time, there lived an old man and an old woman. They lived by the sea and had no children. The old man would catch fish, the old woman would fry it, they would eat, and there would still be some left. So she would complain:

"If only we had children, they could eat the leftovers." And so they went to some old woman, and she helped them in such a way that they ended up having two children. But once the children appeared, the fish almost stopped biting. Whatever the old man caught, the old woman would fry, feed the children, and they would eat the leftovers, but then they would sit hungry again. They started complaining once more:

"When we had no children, there was enough to eat, but now we sit hungry."

And so God took the children away. And when He did, the fish stopped biting altogether.

"Dear Lord," they complained, "when we had the children, at least we could feed ourselves near them, but now that the children are gone, the fish are gone too."

One day, the old man went to the sea to fish and caught a crayfish. He brought it home.

"Start a fire," he said, "we'll roast the crayfish." But the crayfish spoke:

"Hey, old man, don't roast me. Go back to the sea and dip your arm up to the elbow in the water where you caught me."

The old man went and pulled out a whole sack of money. He bought everything he needed, but soon spent all the money. When he ran out, he went back for the crayfish.

"Start a fire, old woman, we'll roast the crayfish." But the crayfish had been hidden somewhere in the closet all this time. The crayfish pleaded:

"Don't roast me, old man. Go to the spot where you caught me and stand in the water up to your knees."

The old man went, waded into the water, and pulled out a large sack of money. With that money, the old man became so rich that he even opened shops. One day, the crayfish said to him:

"Go, old man, and propose to the princess on my behalf."

"How can I propose for you if you're a crayfish?"

"Just go and propose!" the crayfish insisted. So the old man went to the king.

"Give your princess in marriage to my crayfish!" he said.

"To what crayfish?"

"Just to a simple crayfish."

"How can we give her to him if he's a crayfish? Well, alright, tell your crayfish that we will give her to him when he has servants like mine, a palace like mine, and a bridge from his palace to mine—one plank silver, the other gold, one pillar gold, the other silver, one nail silver, the other gold. And when someone rides across that bridge, the gardens should bloom, and when they return, the fruits should already be ripe."

The old man came back and told the crayfish.

"Well," the crayfish said, "that can be done."

The next morning, the old man woke up and was so frightened: his bed and the palace were even better than the king's. He got into a carriage, took the crayfish with him, and as they rode across the bridge, gardens bloomed along it.

What could they do? The princess had to marry the crayfish. They got married, and during the day he lived behind the stove, but at night he turned into a young man.

One day, the princess spied where he hid his shell, took it, and burned it.

He woke up in the morning and went to look for his shell. Oh no—it was gone.

"Well," he said, "if you didn't want to wait for the time to come, you won't see me again soon. But take these iron shoes. When they wear out, maybe I'll return." And with that, he left.

She lived on and on, almost forgetting about him, when suddenly she saw the shoes wearing out. And then he returned.

And from that day on, they lived happily ever after.

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The Old Man and the Crab

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