sire, there was once upon a time a fisherman so old and so poor that he could scarcely ma* to support his wife and three children. he went *ry day to fish very early, and each day he made a rule not to throw his nets * than four times. he started out one morning by moonlight and came to the sea-shore. he undressed and threw his nets, and as he was drawing them towards the bank he felt a great weight. he though he had caught a large fish, and he felt very pleased. but a moment afterwards, seeing that instead of a fish he only had in his nets the carcase（*体） of an ass1, he was much disappointed.
vexed2 with having such a bad haul, when he had mended his nets, which the carcase of the ass had broken in s*ral places, he threw them a second time. in drawing them in he again felt a great weight, so that he thought they were full of fish. but he only found a large basket full of rub*sh. he was much annoyed.
"o fortune," he cried, "do not trifle（开玩笑） thus with me, a poor fisherman, who can hardly support his family!"
so saying, he threw away the rub*sh, and after having washed his nets clean of the dirt, he threw them for the third time. but he only drew in stones, shells, and mud. he was almost in despair.
then he threw his nets for the fourth time. when he thought he had a fish he drew them in with a great deal of trouble. there was no fish how*r, but he found a yellow pot, which by its weight seemed full of something, and he noticed that it was fastened and sealed with lead, with the impression of a seal. he was delighted. "i will sell it to the founder," he said; "with the money i shall get for it i shall buy a measure of wheat."
he examined the jar on all sides; he shook it to see if it would rattle3. but he heard nothing, and so, judging from the impression of the seal and the lid, he thought there must be something precious inside. to find out, he took his knife, and with a little trouble he opened it. he turned it upside down, but nothing came out, which surprised him very much. he set it in front of him, and whilst he was looking at it attentively4, such a thick smoke came out that he had to step back a pace or two. this smoke rose up to the clouds, and stretching over the sea and the shore, formed a thick mist, which caused the fisherman much astonishment5. when all the smoke was out of the jar it gathered itself together, and became a thick mass in which appeared a genius, twice as large as the largest giant. when he saw such a terrible-looking monster, the fisherman would like to have run away, but he trembled so with fright that he could not move a step.
"great king of the genii（鬼，魔*）," cried the monster, "i will n*r again disobey you!"
at these words the fisherman took courage.
"what is this you are saying, great genius? tell me your history and how you came to be shut up in that vase."
at this, the genius looked at the fisherman haughtily6. "speak to me * civilly," he said, "before i kill you."
"alas7! why should you kill me?" cried the fisherman. "i have just freed you; have you already forgotten that?"
"no," answered the genius; "but that will not pr*nt me from killin* you; and i am only going to grant you one favour, and that is to choose the manner of your death."
"but what have i done to you?" asked the fisherman.
"i cannot treat you in any other way," said the genius, "and if you would know why, listen to my story.
"i rebelled against the king of the genii. to punish me, he shut me up in this vase of copper9, and he put on the leaden cover his seal, which is enchantment10 enough to pr*nt my coming out. then he had the vase thrown into the sea. during the first period of my captivity11 i vowed12 that if anyone should free me before a hundred years were passed, i would make him rich *n after his death. but that century passed, and no one freed me. in the second century i vowed that i would give all the treasures in the world to my deliverer; but he n*r came.
"in the third, i promised to make him a king, to be always near him, and to grant him three wishes *ry day; but that century passed away as the other two had done, and i remained in the same plight13. at last i grew angry at being captive for so long, and i vowed that if anyone would release me i would kill him at once, and would only allow him to choose in what manner he should die. so you see, as you have freed me to-day, choose in what way you will die."
