Long ago, by the sea, lived a poor old fisherman. He had a wife and three children, and life was very hard. He had a rule: cast his net only four times a day, accepting whatever he caught without complaint.
He cast his net for the first time. It felt immensely heavy, and his heart filled with joy, hoping for a big fish. But he dragged ashore only a weathered donkey carcass.
Sighing, the fisherman mended his net. He cast it a second time. This time, he pulled up nothing but a large earthen jar, filled with sand and mud.
Undiscouraged, he invoked the name of God and cast his net for the third time. The catch was merely a collection of broken pottery and shards of glass.
As the sun began to set, the fisherman, with his last ounce of hope, cast his net with all his might. This time, the net was incredibly heavy. Inside, there were no fish, but a copper flask.
The flask's top was sealed with lead and stamped with the ancient seal of King Solomon. He shook the flask and heard nothing. Curious, he took out his knife and pried open the lead seal.
He turned the flask upside down, but nothing came out. Suddenly, a thick plume of smoke billowed forth, rising so high it seemed to touch the clouds and blocking out the light.
The smoke then condensed and took the shape of a colossal genie. His head was in the clouds, his feet on the sand. His head was like a castle, his eyes like blazing torches, and his appearance was terrifying.
The fisherman was paralyzed with fear, trembling from head to toe. The genie saw him and boomed in a voice like thunder, 'Oh, great Solomon, prophet of God, forgive me! I shall never again disobey you!'
Gathering his courage, the fisherman said, 'You mighty genie! King Solomon has been dead for more than eighteen hundred years! What is your story?'
Hearing this, the genie's demeanor changed from submission to arrogance. 'In that case, mortal,' he roared, 'prepare to end your journey! I am going to kill you!'
'What!' cried the fisherman, aghast. 'Why would you kill me? I have just freed you from your prison!' The genie scoffed and prepared to explain his dark past.
The genie explained he had rebelled against King Solomon and was imprisoned. For the first century, he swore, 'I will make rich forever the one who sets me free.' But no one came.
In the second century, he swore, 'I will reveal all the buried treasures of the earth to my rescuer.' Still, no one came to free him.
In the third century, he promised, 'I will grant three wishes to whoever frees me.' Yet again, he was met with silence, and still, no one came to his aid.
After centuries of despair, his hope turned to bitter rage and resentment. He made a final, terrible vow: 'Henceforth, I will not reward my liberator. Instead, I will kill him.'
'I will grant him only one favor: the choice of how to end his journey.' The fisherman knew then that pleading for his life was useless. He had to rely on his wits.
A clever idea flashed in his mind. 'Very well,' he said to the genie, 'if I must end my journey, I accept my fate. But before you do, I ask you to swear by the Most High Name to answer one question truthfully.'
The genie agreed. The fisherman pointed to the small copper flask. 'I simply cannot believe that a being as vast as you could have ever fit into such a tiny vessel. It seems impossible.'
The genie, provoked by the fisherman's doubt, replied haughtily, 'You do not believe it? Then watch, O ignorant man!' He prepared to show his power.
With that, the genie's massive form began to dissolve back into a column of smoke. The smoke swirled and spiraled, flowing back into the flask until not a wisp remained outside.
In that very instant, the quick-witted fisherman seized the lead stopper from the ground and sealed the flask tightly, stamping it shut. The genie was trapped once more.
The genie, trapped once more, was furious. He thrashed and raged within his prison, screaming for the fisherman to let him out. But the fisherman was no longer afraid.
He held the flask up and admonished the spirit inside, 'You ungrateful genie! You would repay kindness with murder. Now it is my turn to decide your fate.'
'I will not be fooled again. I shall throw you back into the sea and erect a sign on this shore, warning all who pass of the wicked genie who repays good with evil.'
And so, the fisherman hurled the copper flask, with the evil genie sealed inside, far back into the depths of the ocean. The malevolent spirit was never able to escape again, and the wise fisherman had saved his own life.
