The octopus demon and its wife

Long ago, a young fisherman lived by the sea, he was very diligent and hard-working, he went out early and came back late every day to fish, keeping only the smallest one for himself, and selling the rest.

The young fisherman was so frugal that he dug three wells near his house and hid his hard-earned money in them.

Later he got married and had three daughters, but he still did the same job of fishing as before. But now he had to change his habits: if he caught only one fish, he ate it himself; if two, he and his wife ate it; if three, he, his wife, and his daughters ate it together. They only ate the fish after they had cooked the vegetable soup. If they have five fish, then there is enough for everyone in his family. If there are more fish, he sells the rest. This was the habit of this fisherman.

Time was passing, and the day finally came: the fisherman's three wells were all filled with money.

Once he went out to fish, but he didn't catch anything and had to go home empty-handed. The food at home was very much to his taste because he was used to meals with fish.

So he went to the beach again, but this time it was in vain, and when he got home he waited for darkness. When it was almost dark he went to the beach again to fish, but still nothing.

Then he did not go to the beach for a long time. But once again he came to the original place where he often fished, hoping to hit even one fish, to make the next meal.

The fisherman cast the net down and dragged it up, he felt the net was heavy. He was very happy, carefully pulling the net when the net has been pulled up half, he saw hit a big fish.

But this fish is very strange: it speaks human.

Hearing the fish's voice, the fisherman intended to throw the net down and run away, but he did not dare to do so because he was afraid. This monster suddenly said: "You come here to fight fish, every time you want as much as I will give you. But today you are wrong. You wanted to fish, but you caught me, and I am the king of this sea. You have three wells full of money, you have a good wife, and you even have three daughters. What else are you missing? In this way, whether you like it or not, but you must die."

When the fisherman heard these words, he shivered, fell to the ground, and lost consciousness. When he woke up before he could open his eyes, the monster said to him again: "If you still want to live, give me one of your daughters as a wife. Go back and talk to them and come here tomorrow morning to answer me."

The fisherman just regained a little strength and immediately ran home.

On the way, he wept sadly until he reached home.

His wife asked her husband why he was crying, and he told her everything that had happened. They both then cried together sadly. After they had cried enough, they called their eldest daughter and told her everything, asking her, "Will you marry that monster to save your father's life?" But this daughter refused. The old people cried again, and the daughter cried with them.

So they called the second daughter and, after telling her everything, asked her, "Will you marry that monster to save your old father's life?"

But this daughter also refused. The four of them cried again.

Finally, they called their youngest daughter and told her everything. After hearing this, the younger daughter said, "I am ready to marry that monster so that my father can stay with us. If I don't, my father will be killed, and we will all be orphans and our mother a widow. Our property would have disappeared along with our father's death."

Hearing such a reply, the father was pleased and said.

"As soon as it is light, I will go to the old place by sea and tell him your answer."

Early in the morning, he ran to the seashore, but before he could open his mouth to tell the monster what his youngest daughter had agreed to, he heard a voice: "I know everything that has happened in your house. Now you take this ring and give it to the daughter who agreed to marry me. Before next Sunday, make all the preparations for the marriage, and I will come then."

The fisherman returned home and gave the ring to his young daughter - the fiancée of the terrible octopus demon.

On Sunday morning, the fisherman came to the beach to greet his new son-in-law and consult with him. He saw the octopus demon, who handed him a big bag of the bride's clothes and said to him, "Go home first, get everything ready, and then everyone goes to the place where the wedding will be held, and I will come in a little while."

The fisherman returned home, opened the bag, and handed the clothes to the women who were dressing the bride. Then everyone went together to the judge who testified to the marriage of his daughter and the octopus demon. The octopus demon was already waiting for his bride at the judge's place. But no one could see the groom, except the judge, his fiancée, and her parents.

After the judge testified to the young man, everyone went back to the fisherman's house and held a wedding celebration.

The wedding was very lively, with people beating drums, shouting and laughing.

In the evening, the young husband asked to be allowed to take his bride away, and they obliged him.

When the octopus demon took his wife to the beach, he took her hand, and together they walked into the water. They came to an island, and the husband said to his wife, "Madam, if you wish for anything, just say so; if not, then I will go to the sea for a while. If you want anything, stir up the sea with this stick, and my servants will come running to you, and they will grant you all your wishes."

The wife replied, "My husband, I want to tell you that I am very hungry."

A moment later, the husband touched his wife's neck, and she immediately fell asleep in a strange, deep sleep. As his wife slept, the octopus demon took his knife, cut open her stomach, stuffed some very fragrant meat into her stomach, and then he sewed her stomach back together, like the old one.

When he was done, he woke up his wife and asked her, "Well, madam, do you still feel hungry?"

"No, I am quite full."

Then he said to her, "My wife, I will always treat you very well, as long as you do not break my injunction, for if you break it, we shall never meet again. My injunction is this: from now on you must not cry; tears will separate us forever, and even if a single tear falls from your eye, we will never see each other again."

They lived in this way for many days.

Once the octopus demon said to his wife, "Madam, your father is very sick, but I cannot let you go to your parents because you will break my ban."

One day, the octopus demon told his wife that her father had died. He took his wife's hand with his funeral goods and floated with her to a place where a road led to her parent's home.

Here they said goodbye, and he warned his wife not to forget the ban.

When the woman returned to her parent's home, she saw that her father had died, and people were preparing for his funeral.

As soon as the relatives saw her, they were amazed by her unusually beautiful appearance. Especially when she spoke, she exuded fragrance. What also amazed them was that she no longer knew hunger. Her relatives envied her and all wanted to be like her.

After her father was buried, the octopus demon's wife left a lot of money as gifts to her mother and sister, and then she said goodbye to them and walked toward the sea. She went to the sea, stirred the water with a stick, then jumped out of the water a few servants, carried her to her husband.

Time passed quickly, and one day the octopus demon told his wife that her mother had died.