The story of the talking fish starts with a poor worker who carrying out his daily chores. The poor worker had a new job as a helper to the fisherman. After doing his work, the lowly laborer received payment in the form of a few fish. With the few fish, the worker survived with his wife.
One day while the poor worker was at his work, he caught a little fish. The worker was shocked to see such as fascinating fish and the fish surprised him by speaking in a human voice. The fish informed the unlucky laborer that while he was having fun with his pals, he ended up entangled in the fishing net.
The talking fish told the poor worker that he was suffering and that his friends and family must be looking for him. The talking fish was then gasping. They begged the poor worker to throw it back into the water. The worker was wondering if what he heard was true.
He thought to himself how a fish could talk. He also thought that could a fish have joys and sorrows just like humans have. Then he threw the talking fish back into the water. He told the fish that he didn’t want his parent to worry about him.
When the poor worker’s boss saw this, he was very angry. He yelled at him that he had instructed him to catch fish, instead, he threw them back into the water. The fisherman then called the poor worker a fool and then he fired him right away.
The poor worker then walked home and he was wondering what he was going to tell his wife. He was worried about what would happen to them since he didn’t have a job. As he was walking home, he was filled with lots of sad thoughts.
Then the poor worker noticed a monster walking towards him. The monster was in human form, and he was driving a cow. The monster greeted the poor worker and asked why he was sad. The worker then narrated the whole story to the monster.
The monster came up with a plan. He told the worker that he would do him a favor. The monster asked the worker to preserve the cow for three years and that she would produce good milk for him and his wife and they would never be hungry.
The monster told him that after three years he would return and ask him several questions. If he can answer them correctly, he will give the cow to the worker. However, if he isn’t able to answer the questions correctly, then he will take the worker along with the cow.
The poor worker thought for a while before he agreed. He thought of taking the cow home rather than being hungry. The worker planned to sell the milk from the cow and use it for 3 years. So, the worker agreed to the terms and he took the cow home.
The cow produced good milk for the worker and his wife and they were able to sell the milk to make money. At night the worker and his wife would sit outside and would think about the monster. They would think about the solutions to the monster question. However, they had no idea what the monster would ask them.
After several days the three years were coming to an end. Then one day, a good-looking young man approached them. The young man expressed how tired he was and asked if it was okay to spend the night with the poor worker and his wife.
The worker and his wife allowed the young man to spend the night at their home. They warned the young man that something terrible was going to happen to them because they took a cow from a monster. They narrated the whole story to the young man and told him to be cautious so that he wouldn’t be harmed.
The young man agreed to leave the house after spending the night. At midnight, there was a knock on the door. It was the monster. He had come back after three years. He told the couple that it was time to answer his questions.
The poor worker was ready to answer the questions that the monster was going to ask. When they were about to answer the question, the young man approached them and said that he would answer the question for them.
The monster then asked the young man where he was from and how did he get there. The young man answered that he came from the sea and he got here by riding a lame flea. After answering the questions, the monster was stunned.
The monster stood quietly and then he disappeared into the darkness. This made the poor worker and his wife very happy and they celebrated. When it was morning, the young man was ready to leave, but the worker and his wife didn’t want him to go.
The worker and his wife thanked him for saving their lives and the young man replied that there was no need to thank him. The worker and his wife wanted to know where he came from and he replied that he was the little fish that he had thrown into the water. The young man then stated that no kindness is ever lost and so he disappeared.