The next morning the wife was awake first, just at the break of day, and she looked out and saw from her bed the beautiful country lying all round. The man took no notice of it, so she poked him in the side with her elbow, and said,
"Husband, get up and just look out of the window. Look, just think if we could be king over all this country . Just go to your fish and tell him we should like to be king."
"Now, wife," said the man, "what should we be kings for? I don't want to be king."
"Well," said the wife, "if you don't want to be king, I will be king."
"Now, wife," said the man, "what do you want to be king for? I could not ask him such a thing."
"Why not?" said the wife, "you must go directly all the same; I must be king."
So the man went, very much put out that his wife should want to be king.
"It is not the right thing to do-not at all the right thing," thought the man. He did not at all want to go, and yet he went all the same.
And when he came to the sea the water was quite dark grey, and rushed far inland, and had an ill smell. And he stood and said,
'' O man, O man!-if man you be, Or flounder, flounder, in the sea- Such a tiresome wife I've got, For she wants what I do not."
"Now then, what does she want?" said the fish. "Oh dear!"said the man, "she wants to be king."
"Go home with you, she is so already," said the fish.

第二天早晨，妻子先醒了，这时正是黎明时分，她坐在床上看得见眼前的田野，富饶美丽，一望无际。 她用胳膊肘捅了捅丈夫的腰，然后说，"当家的，起床吧，快点儿跟我到窗前来。瞧啊，咱们难道不可以当一当这个国家的国王吗？快去找比目鱼，说咱们要当国王。"
"哎呀，老婆呀！"丈夫说，"咱们干吗要当什么国王呢？
我才不想干这个。 "
"喂，"妻子说，"你不想当，我可想当。快去找比目鱼，告诉他说我必须当国王。"
"唉，老婆呀，"丈夫嚷嚷着说，"你干吗要当什么国王呢？
我跟他说不出口的呀。 "
"为什么说不出口呢？"妻子反驳说，"你给我快点儿去，我非当国王不可。"
渔夫只得走了出去。 一想到老婆非要当国王，心里就感到特别担忧。 "这不应该呀，这实在不应该呀。"他打定主意想不去了，可他还是去了。
他来到海边时，海水一片灰黑，波涛汹涌，从海底翻涌上来的海水散发着恶臭。他站在海边说：
"比目鱼啊，你在大海里，
恳请你好好听我说仔细，
我捉你放你没提愿望，
老婆对此却不饶又不依。 "
"她想要什么呀？"比目鱼问。
"唉，"渔夫回答说，"她要当国王。"
"回去吧，"比目鱼说，"她的愿望已经实现了。"