The Fisherman and the Genie
Classical Stories · No. 50 — A furious genie out of the bottle, and the flattery that puts him back.
- Classical Stories
- 34 min
- Ages 8–13
- 7 chapters
About this audiobook
A poor old fisherman casts his net four times a day. One morning he hauls up a heavy brass bottle stoppered with an ancient seal. He pries it open, and out billows a colossal genie who, instead of gratitude, declares he will kill the man who freed him — for over the long centuries of imprisonment his gratitude curdled into rage. The fisherman cannot fight or flee. So he asks a question, pretending he simply cannot believe that so vast a genie could ever have fit inside so small a bottle — and dares him to prove it. Vanity does the rest.
Why it's worth a listen
A poor fisherman hauls up a sealed brass bottle in his net, opens it — and out roars a giant genie who announces he will grant not wishes but death, because after centuries of waiting he has decided to reward his rescuer by killing him. The fisherman has no magic, no strength, and only one thing that can save him: a single clever question. A perfect small jewel of the Nights.
A question to keep
When something far stronger than you means you harm, can wit be a weapon?
Chapters
- Introduction
- The Four Casts of the Net
- The Vessel from the Deep
- The Smoke That Blocked the Sun
- A Bitter Promise
- The Trap of Vanity
- A Question to Keep