Waldorf News

The Fisherman and the Flounder by John Godfrey Saxe

A fisherman, poor as poor can be,
Who lived in a hovel beside the sea,
Was fishing one day, when “Lo!” he cries,
“I’ve caught a flounder of wondrous size!
As fine a flounder as one could wish!”
“O no! you haven’t!” exclaimed the fish;
“In spite of my scaly skin,” he said,
“I am not a fish, but a Prince instead;
Condemned to suffer this watery woe;
So I beg, good man, you will let me go!”
The fisherman, frightened at what he heard,
Let the flounder go with never a word
Except “Good-by! I’d rather eschew
Than cook a flounder who talks like you!”

His hovel now the fisherman sought,
And told his wife of the fish he caught,
And how his luck was all in vain,
For he let the flounder off again!
“And did you ask for nothing?—alack!”
The woman cried: “Go presently back,
And tell the Prince our wretched lot,
And ask him to give us a finer cot!”
To mind his wife he was something loth,
But he feared the woman when she was wroth;

And so he went to the ocean-side,
And thus the fisherman loudly cried:

“O good flounder in the sea,
Hither quickly come to me;
For Pauline, my loving dame,
Wants queer things I fear to name.”

Whereat the flounder, swimming near,
Said, “Why, O why, am I summoned here?”
And the trembling fisherman answered thus:
“My dame is always making a fuss;
A cosey hovel is hers and mine,
But she fain would have a cottage fine!”
“Go home,” said the fish, “this very minute;
The cottage is hers; you’ll find her in it!”

He hied him home in haste, and lo!
The fisherman found it even so.
“How happy,” he cried, “we now shall be!”
But the woman answered, “We shall see!”
When a month was past, the woman sighed
For a larger house. “Now go,” she cried,
“And tell the flounder (‘tis my command)
I want a mansion large and grand!”
To mind the dame he was truly loth,
But he feared the woman when she was wroth;

So he went again to the ocean-side,
And loudly thus the fisherman cried:

“O good flounder in the sea,
Hither quickly come to me;
For Pauline, my loving dame,
Wants queer things I fear to name.”

Whereat the flounder, swimming near,
Said, “Why again am I summoned here?”
And the trembling fisherman answered thus:
“My wife is always making a fuss;
She deems our cottage much too small;
She wants a mansion large and tall.”
“Go home,” said the fish, “this very minute;
The mansion is there—you’ll find her in it!”

He hied him home in haste, and lo!
The fisherman found it even so!
And he cried, “How happy we shall be!”
But the woman answered, “We shall see!”
When a week was past, the woman sighed
For a castle grand. “Now go,” she cried,
“And tell the flounder that he must give
Your wife a palace wherein to live.”
To mind the dame he was greatly loth,
But he feared the woman when she was wroth;

So he went again to the ocean-side,
And softly thus the fisherman cried:

“O good flounder in the sea,
Hither quickly come to me;
For Pauline, my loving dame,
Wants queer things I fear to name!”

Whereat the flounder, swimming near,
Said, “Why again am I summoned here?”
And the trembling fisherman answered thus:
“My dame is always making a fuss;
She deems our mansion poorly planned;
She wants a palace great and grand!”
“Go home,” said the fish, “this very minute;
The palace is there—you’ll find her in it!”

He hied him home in haste, and, lo!
The fisherman found it even so,
And he cried, “How happy we shall be!”
But the woman answered, “We shall see!”
When a day was past, with growing pride,
For regal power the woman sighed;
And she bade the fisherman tell the fish
To reign as a king was now her wish.
To mind the dame he was sadly loth,
But he feared the woman when she was wroth,

So he went again to the ocean-side,
And softly thus the fisherman cried:

“O good flounder in the sea,
Hither quickly come to me;
For Pauline, my loving dame,
Wants queer things I fear to name.”

Whereat the flounder, swimming near,
Said, “Why again am I summoned here?”
And the trembling fisherman answered thus:
“My dame is always making a fuss;
She has got a palace great and grand,
And now she asks for royal command!”
“Go home!” said the fish, “at the palace gate
You’ll find her a king in royal state!”

He hied him home in haste, and, lo!
The fisherman found it even so.
“Good faith,” said he, “’tis a charming thing
To be, like you, a sovereign king!
With a golden crown upon your brow,
I’m sure you’ll be contented now!”
“Not I, indeed,” the woman said,
“A triple crown would grace my head;
And I am worthy, I humbly hope—
Go tell the flounder to make me pope!”
“A pope? my dear—it cannot be done!
The Church, you know, allows but one!”
“Nay, none of your nonsense, man,” said she,
“A pope—a pope I am bound to be!
The Prince will find it an easy thing
To make a pope as to make a king!”
To mind the dame he was sorely loth,
But he feared the woman when she was wroth,

So he went again to the ocean-side,
And thus the fisherman faintly cried:

“O good flounder in the sea,
Hither quickly come to me,
For Pauline, my loving dame,
Wants queer things I fear to name!”

Whereat the flounder, swimming near,
Said, “Why again am I summoned here?”
“Alack, alack!” the fisherman said,
“Whatever has turned the woman’s head,
She is ill-content with royal scope,
And now, good luck! she would fain be pope!”
“Go home!” the flounder gruffly cried,
“And see the end of foolish pride;
You’ll find her in her hovel again,
And there, till death, shall she remain!”

John Godfrey Saxe (1816-1887) was perhaps best known for his re-telling of the Indian parable “The Blindmen and the Elephant,” which introduced the story to a Western audience. He was admitted to the Vermont bar in 1843 and tried to run a business with his dutiful and pious older brother. The words “dutiful” and “pious” never applied to the aspiring satirist. Bored by his legal work, Saxe began publishing poems for The Knickerbocker, of which “The Rhyme of the Rail” is his most famous early work. Though he received no royalties for his first volume, it ran to ten reprintings and eventually outsold works by Hawthorne and Tennyson.

Andreas Geiger is a puppeteer and a master transparency artist. He lives and works in Evinghausen, Germany. If you can read German, you can visit his web site. If you don’t and would like to see more of his work, visit the transparency gallery.