TheGoldenCrab

The Golden Crab

Once upon a time, there was an old fisherman living with his wife in a small house.

Every morning he got up early to catch fish in the river.

Then he sold all the fish to the king.

One day the fisherman was fishing by the lake.

He pulled his net out of the water and saw a golden crab among the fish.

The crab was shiny and beautiful, so the fisherman liked him very much.

When he came home, he put all the fish together in a big glass dish.

But he kept the crab separate and put it on the top shelf of the cupboard.

The fisherman's wife cleaned the fishes and cooked them.

When they sat down for dinner, they heard the crab's voice.

Give me some fish too!

They were very surprised to hear the crab speak.

The fisherman put some fish on a plate and gave it to the crab.

After the crab finished his meal, they found the plate full of gold.

The fisherman and his wife were very happy.

They fed the crab every day and the crab filled the plate with gold.

One day the crab said to the fisherman.

Go to the king and tell him that I want to marry the princess.

The fisherman went to the palace immediately and delivered the crab's wish to the king.

The king laughed loudly, but he didn't reject the proposal.

He was an intelligent man.

He said, the crab can marry my daughter, but he has to prove himself first.

He must build a wall in front of my palace and the wall must be higher than my tower.

The fisherman came back home and delivered this message to the crab.

The crab gave a magic wand to the fisherman.

Go to the palace, stand in front of the tower, then strike with this magic wand three times on the ground.

The wall will be there.

He said, the fisherman did what the crab told him to do and went away.

The next morning when the king saw a high wall in front of his palace he was shocked.

It was as tall as he wanted.

He called the fisherman and said, the wall is nice, but my daughter also wants a beautiful garden in front of the palace.

There must be three fountains in it.

The first one should be made of silver, the second one should have diamonds, and the third one should be made of gold.

So, the fisherman hit the ground three times with the magic wand again.

The next day, the garden and the fountains were there.

The king had to keep his promise.

The crab can marry the princess, he said sadly.

The crab called the fisherman again.

Take the magic wand and knock with it on the mountain.

Then, a dark man will appear.

He will give you a golden suit, a golden dress, and a golden cushion.

Bring them to me.

He said, the fisherman did so and brought the golden items to the crab.

On the day of the wedding, the crab wore the golden suit and climbed onto the cushion, and the fisherman carried him to the palace.

The crab gave the golden dress to the princess.

The ceremony finished, and when the crab and the princess were alone in their room, the crab told the princess all about himself.

I am a prince, but a witch did some bad magic, and I became a crab.

Now, I am a crab in the daytime, and I am a man at night.

I can also change myself into an eagle, he said.

Suddenly, he turned into a handsome prince.

However, he was a crab again in the morning.

The same thing happened every day.

The queen and the king were very surprised because the princess was happy, and she was always kind to the crab.

However, they didn't want the crab in the palace, so they made a plan.

I will give a party and arrange a tournament.

I will invite all the princes in the world, the king said to his daughter.

You can choose a prince and marry him.

The princess wasn't interested in the party, but she told about it to the crab.

The crab said, take this magic wand and go to the garden.

Hit the ground three times with it. A dark man will appear.

He will give you a suit of golden armor, a horse, and a silver apple. Bring them to me.

The princess did so and gave all the items to the crab.

The following evening, when the crab became a man, he wore the suit of golden armor.

Don't tell anyone that I am the crab, he said to his wife.

Stand at the window with your sisters. I will throw you the silver apple. Take it in your hand and don't tell anyone about me.

Then he got on this horse and went away.

The princess stood at the window with her sisters. She watched the tournament quietly.

Her husband rode his horse and threw the silver apple at her.

When the princess caught it in her hand, she went to her room.

The king was sad because the princess wasn't interested in any of the princes at the party.

He decided to arrange another tournament.

The princess went to the garden with the magic wand again.

This time, she took a golden apple from the dark man and gave it to the crab.

In the evening, the princess was at the window with her sisters and her mother.

She watched the tournament. Her husband rode his horse and threw the golden apple to her.

The princess caught it in her hand and went back to her room. She was very happy.

But the queen was very angry.

Why aren't you interested in that prince? You can go and talk to him at least. She shouted.

The princess was scared.

Because he is the crab himself. He is my husband. And I love him. She cried.

The queen got more and more angry when the princess told her all about the crab.

She ran into her daughter's room. The crab shell was on the bed. She took it and threw it into the fire.

The princess was very sad. She cried for days. But her husband didn't return.

In another part of the country, there was an old man sitting by a river. He had some bread for lunch in his basket.

Suddenly, a dog came out of the water and took his bread. Then he ran away.

The old man chased after the dog. After a while, the dog stopped in front of the door and opened it.

He went inside and started to climb up the stairs. The man followed him.

At the top of the stairs, the man reached a big room. There stood a big round dining table in the middle of the room.

There were 11 plates, 11 glasses and lots of food on it. The old man was curious. He hid behind a big column.

After a short time, he heard a loud noise. He looked around and saw 11 eagles flying in.

When the eagles came to the table, they turned into handsome young men. All the men sat at the table.

One of them said, I'm happy because my father is healthy. Another one said, I'm happy because my mother is healthy.

Then one of them said, I have got a lovely wife, but her mother is cruel. She burnt my shell. He started to cry.

All the men stood up and became eagles again. Then they flew away.

The old man went back home. He told everybody about the eagles.

One of the servants at the palace heard this story and told it to the princess.

The princess wanted to talk to the old man, so she invited him to the palace.

Can you take me to that place, please? She asked.

Yes, of course.

answered the old man.

When the princess and the old man came to the big room, they hid behind the column.

The eagles came flying in and they turned into young men.

In a moment, the princess recognized her husband among them. She was very happy to see the prince again.

The young men seated themselves at the table and the prince repeated his words.

I have got a lovely wife, but her mother is cruel. She burnt my shell.

After he finished his words, the princess ran towards him and hugged him.

At that moment, the bad magic ended. The prince never turned into an eagle again.

The prince and princess lived happily ever after.