Long ago, by a wide blue sea, lived a poor old fisherman. Each day he cast his net just four times. One morning the first cast brought up only seaweed.

The second cast brought a jar full of sand. The third brought broken pots. “One cast left,” sighed the fisherman. He threw his net far out into the waves.

This time the net was heavy! He pulled and pulled and out came a copper bottle, sealed with lead and stamped with a strange mark. “What could be inside?” he wondered.

He opened the seal — and WHOOSH! A great cloud of smoke poured out and rose into an enormous genie, tall as a tower, made of blue and gold. The fisherman stared up in wonder.

“I have waited a thousand years in that little bottle!” boomed the genie. “I grew SO cross and grumpy down there!” The fisherman gulped, but he had a clever idea.

“A thousand years? In THAT tiny bottle?” said the fisherman. “I cannot believe such a great genie ever fit inside. Surely it is impossible!” The genie frowned proudly.

“Impossible? I will show you!” roared the genie. He swirled into smoke and poured himself back down, down, down into the little copper bottle until not a wisp was left.

Quick as a flash, the fisherman clapped the lead seal back on top! “Now who is clever?” he laughed. From inside, a small voice called, “Please, kind fisherman, let me out!”

The genie promised to be good and kind. So the fisherman opened the bottle once more. This time the genie bowed low. “Thank you, friend. You are clever and kind. Let me reward you.”

The genie led him to a hidden pond sparkling with fish of red, gold, and blue. “Fish here,” he said. The fisherman caught the wonderful fish, sold them at the city, and never went hungry again.