The Fisherman and the Jinni

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A poor fisherman goes to the shore to fish four times a day. On his fourth cast he pulls up a copper jar with a seal of Solomon. He opens the cap and a plume of smoke forms a jinni. The jinni shouts that Solomon is the one who punished him, and the fisherman explains that Solomon is long dead. The jinni offers to reward the man who frees him, but first he gives the fisherman a choice: the manner of the fisherman’s death or precious wealth. The fisherman pretends to bargain, then cleverly asks how the jinni could fit into the bottle. The jinni shrinks himself back into the jar to show off, and the fisherman quickly caps it, warning the jinni not to threaten him.

The jinni pleads for mercy and, in return for his freedom, promises to help the fisherman. He explains that for the first hundred years of imprisonment he would enrich the liberator, for the next century he would grant great wealth, for the third century three wishes, and after four hundred years he would grant the freed person a choice of deaths. The fisherman tricks the jinni into promising mercy and frees him.

The jinni then leads the fisherman to a pond full of exotic fish and tells him to bring four to the Sultan. The fisherman does so, and the Sultan follows to the pond to learn their secret. There, a living story emerges—the tale of a prince who is half man and half stone, known as the Ensorcelled Prince. The Sultan helps the prince regain his freedom and overthrow the wrongdoers, and the king’s position strengthens.

In gratitude, the fisherman is rewarded. His son becomes the Sultan’s treasurer, and the Sultan marries the fisherman’s two daughters to the prince and to another suitable heir.