Then
he went and stood by it, and said,

“Flounder, flounder in the sea,
Come, I pray thee, here to me;
For my wife, good Ilsabil,
Wills not as I’d have her will.”


“Well, what does she want, then?” said the Flounder. “Alas, Flounder,”
said he, “my wife wants to be Emperor.” “Go to her,” said the Flounder;
“she is Emperor already.”

So the man went, and when he got there the whole palace was made of
polished marble with alabaster figures and golden ornaments, and
soldiers were marching before the door blowing trumpets, and beating
cymbals and drums; and in the house, barons, and counts, and dukes were
going about as servants. Then they opened the doors to him, which were
of pure gold. And when he entered, there sat his wife on a throne,
which was made of one piece of gold, and was quite two miles high; and
she wore a great golden crown that was three yards high, and set with
diamonds and carbuncles, and in one hand she had the sceptre, and in
the other the imperial orb; and on both sides of her stood the yeomen
of the guard in two rows, each being smaller than the one before him,
from the biggest giant, who was two miles high, to the very smallest
dwarf, just as big as my little finger. And before it stood a number of
princes and dukes. Then the man went and stood among them, and said, “Wife, are you
Emperor now?” “Yes,” said she, “now I am Emperor.” Then he stood and
looked at her well, and when he had looked at her thus for some time,
he said, “Ah, wife, be content, now that you are Emperor.” “Husband,”
said she, “why are you standing there? Now, I am Emperor, but I will be
Pope too; go to the Flounder.” “Alas, wife,” said the man, “what will
you not wish for? You cannot be Pope. There is but one in Christendom. He cannot make you Pope.” “Husband,” said she, “I will be Pope; go
immediately, I must be Pope this very day.” “No, wife,” said the man,
“I do not like to say that to him; that would not do, it is too much;
the Flounder can’t make you Pope.” “Husband,” said she, “what nonsense! If he can make an emperor he can make a pope. Go to him directly. I am
Emperor, and you are nothing but my husband; will you go at once?”

Then he was afraid and went; but he was quite faint, and shivered and
shook, and his knees and legs trembled. And a high wind blew over the
land, and the clouds flew, and towards evening all grew dark, and the
leaves fell from the trees, and the water rose and roared as if it were
boiling, and splashed upon the shore. And in the distance he saw ships
which were firing guns in their sore need, pitching and tossing on the
waves. And yet in the midst of the sky there was still a small bit of
blue, though on every side it was as red as in a heavy storm. So, full
of despair, he went and stood in much fear and said,

“Flounder, flounder in the sea,
Come, I pray thee, here to me;”
For my wife, good Ilsabil,
Wills not as I’d have her will. “Well, what does she want, then?” said the Flounder. “Alas,” said the
man, “she wants to be Pope.” “Go to her then,” said the Flounder; “she
is Pope already.”

So he went, and when he got there, he saw what seemed to be a large
church surrounded by palaces. He pushed his way through the crowd. Inside, however, everything was lighted up with thousands and thousands
of candles, and his wife was clad in gold, and she was sitting on a
much higher throne, and had three great golden crowns on, and round
about her there was much ecclesiastical splendour; and on both sides of
her was a row of candles the largest of which was as tall as the very
tallest tower, down to the very smallest kitchen candle, and all the
emperors and kings were on their knees before her, kissing her shoe. “Wife,” said the man, and looked attentively at her, “are you now
Pope?” “Yes,” said she, “I am Pope.” So he stood and looked at her, and
it was just as if he was looking at the bright sun. When he had stood
looking at her thus for a short time, he said, “Ah, wife, if you are
Pope, do let well alone!” But she looked as stiff as a post, and did
not move or show any signs of life. Then said he, “Wife, now that you
are Pope, be satisfied, you cannot become anything greater now.” “I
will consider about that,” said the woman. Thereupon they both went to
bed, but she was not satisfied, and greediness let her have no sleep,
for she was continually thinking what there was left for her to be. The man slept well and soundly, for he had run about a great deal
during the day; but the woman could not fall asleep at all, and flung
herself from one side to the other the whole night through, thinking
always what more was left for her to be, but unable to call to mind
anything else. At length the sun began to rise, and when the woman saw
the red of dawn, she sat up in bed and looked at it. And when, through
the window, she saw the sun thus rising, she said, “Cannot I, too,
order the sun and moon to rise?” “Husband,” she said, poking him in the
ribs with her elbows, “wake up! go to the Flounder, for I wish to be
even as God is.” The man was still half asleep, but he was so horrified
that he fell out of bed. He thought he must have heard amiss, and
rubbed his eyes, and said, “Alas, wife, what are you saying?”
“Husband,” said she, “if I can’t order the sun and moon to rise, and
have to look on and see the sun and moon rising, I can’t bear it. I
shall not know what it is to have another happy hour, unless I can make
them rise myself.” Then she looked at him so terribly that a shudder
ran over him, and said, “Go at once; I wish to be like unto God.”
“Alas, wife,” said the man, falling on his knees before her, “the
Flounder cannot do that; he can make an emperor and a pope; I beseech
you, go on as you are, and be Pope.” Then she fell into a rage, and her
hair flew wildly about her head, and she cried, “I will not endure
this, I’ll not bear it any longer; wilt thou go?” Then he put on his
trousers and ran away like a madman. But outside a great storm was
raging, and blowing so hard that he could scarcely keep his feet;
houses and trees toppled over, the mountains trembled, rocks rolled
into the sea, the sky was pitch black, and it thundered and lightened,
and the sea came in with black waves as high as church-towers and
mountains, and all with crests of white foam at the top. Then he cried,
but could not hear his own words,

“Flounder, flounder in the sea,
Come, I pray thee, here to me;
For my wife, good Ilsabil,
Wills not as I’d have her will.”


“Well, what does she want, then?” said the Flounder. “Alas,” said he,
“she wants to be like unto God.” “Go to her, and you will find her back
again in the dirty hovel.” And there they are living still at this very
time. 20 The Valiant Little Tailor

One summer’s morning a little tailor was sitting on his table by the
window; he was in good spirits, and sewed with all his might. Then came
a peasant woman down the street crying, “Good jams, cheap!