So the fisherman went back up the hill, passed through the garden, and saw that indeed, the beautiful big house had been magically transformed into a castle, with a good solid foundation and a nice sound roof and great high walls around it.

“Oh this is very nice!” said the fisherman, and he hugged his wife.

“Yes, it is,” she said, looking around. She kissed her husband and they went about their evening routine in the castle.

A few days later, though, the fisherman noticed that his wife was looking pretty unhappy again.

“What is the matter, Dear?” he asked.

“Oh, it’s nothing, really,” she said, looking away from him. The fisherman had been married to his dear wife for a long time, though, and he knew that this was not going to be the end of this conversation. So he pestered, and he persisted, and finally she admitted what was troubling her.

“It’s just that this castle is so small, compared to the king’s castle, really,” she said. “I mean, if the fish was a PRINCE, couldn’t he have gotten us a proper castle as big as the king’s? I mean, you did spare his life…”