Myths and Legends—Middle Eastern

From the Arabian Nights： The fisherman and the genie

A long time ago there was an old， poor fisherman who did not catch enough fish for him and his family to live well. One day when he pulled in his fishing net he found a pot in it that looked valuable. He was happy because he could sell the pot and make some money. But he was also curious to see what was inside， and so he took the lid off. Smoke came out of the pot and became a big， powerful genie.

The genie had been in the pot for four hundred years and he was very angry. At first he told the fisherman that he would kill him and that the fisherman had to choose how he wanted to die. Scared， the fisherman decided to trick the genie. He told him that he did not believe he could fit inside that little pot because he was so much bigger than it. So the genie went back inside to prove it. The fisherman told the genie how he had tricked him and then said he would only let the genie out again if the genie promised to help him instead of hurt him.

The genie promised and the fisherman released him. The genie took the fisherman to a lake where there were many special fish. The fisherman caught four of these fish and the genie told him to take these fish to the king. The fish were special because they talked and answered any questions that people wanted to know. The king was very impressed by this and he paid the fisherman a lot of money for the fish. He also gave the fisherman’s son a very important job and married one of the fisherman’s beautiful daughters.

Activity 1

Before you read， decide which word or words go with which meaning.

1. fisherman 2. genie 3. impressed

4. let out 5. lid 6. trick

a. a creature that has magic powers - it lives inside containers and， when it comes out， uses magic to help or hurt people

b. a man who catches fish， usually as his job

c. allow a person or an animal to leave， especially when they are unable to escape themselves

d. make somebody do something you want them to do and that they don’t want to do， usually by lying to them

e. the top， or cover， of a container

f. how you feel when something， usually good， has a powerful effect on you

Activity 2

The phrases 1–5 below are subordinate clauses： they begin a sentence but they need a main clause （the main information of a sentence） to complete them. Subordinate clauses are often followed by a comma， and then the main clause comes after the comma. Match the subordinate clauses 1–5 with the main clauses a–e below：

1. Curious to see what was inside，

2. Inside the pot for so many years，

3. Scared of the genie，

4. Keeping his promise，

5. Impressed by the talking fish，

a. the fisherman decided to trick him.

b. the king paid the fisherman a lot of money for them.

c. the genie took the fisherman to a special lake.

d. the fisherman took the lid off the pot.

e. the genie was very angry.

Activity 3

The story contains common phrases. Use the story to help you decide which words on the left go with which words on the right. More than one answer is possible， but choose the answer from the story. The words do not always go directly together. For example， ‘catch enough fish’ and ‘caught four of these fish.’

answer out

catch off

come money

make out

pay questions

let fish

take money

Activity 4

Are there any stories about genies， or anything similar， where you come from？ How are they different from and how are they similar to the genie from this story？ Are they good or bad？ Which would you prefer to meet？

Answers

Activity 1

1. b; 2. a; 3. f; 4. c; 5. e; 6. d

Activity 2

1. d; 2. e; 3. a; 4. c; 5. b

Activity 3

answer questions; catch fish; come out; make money; pay money; let out; take off