Wow, a talking fish!

Old man on a fishing trip catches a talking fish that asks to be released, motivated by his grandfather’s admonition: “Do good and throw it in the water. It will not be lost, it will return to you in kind. The old man realizes that the fish is unlikely to be of any use to him, but he lets it go anyway.

The old man sits on the shore and thinks, “Now there’s nothing to eat!” And he exclaimed in annoyance, “Eh!”

Suddenly a monster appears from under the ground, constantly changing its appearance, and exclaims: “I’m here! Why did you call?” The astonished old man asks: “Я?”. The monster continues, “You said: “Eh.” Eh, that’s me. The great, mighty, good wizard. Say whatever you wish. I will do anything, I can do anything!” Since the old man and his wife were starving, Eh gave him a magic table, the equivalent of a tablecloth, and taught him how to use it. The old man thanked Eeh and ran home.

He uses the table at home, but then Eekh’s head appears from the food on it in the form of stew and says the following to the old men: “I forgot to warn you: I have a little condition. At midnight sharp I will come to visit you and I will ask you questions until dawn. If you manage to answer, the table is yours. And if you fail to do so, blame yourself! You’ll remember me forever!”

In the evening, a young man comes to the old men and asks to spend the night. Despite their warning that the beast will come at midnight and destroy all three, he stays with them. At night, at the appointed time, the “kind” Eekh appears, and the young man goes out to meet him. The astonished Eeh begins to ask the young man questions, but he gives quick and confusing answers to each question. He has no time to comprehend them, Eh asks more questions, but finally realizes that he is starting to go crazy and, unable to endure it, rushes upwards to the stars, where he is struck by a meteor against the background of the constellation “Talking FISH”.

When asked who he was, the young man reminded the old man of his grandfather’s admonition, “Do good and throw it in the water.” So the talking fish, who appeared in the guise of a young man, came in handy for the old man at a difficult moment. After saying goodbye, the fish takes its usual form again and dives into the sea.