"This will come to no good. It is too much to ask. The fish will be
tired at last, and then we shall repent of what we have done."
He soon arrived at the sea, and the water was quite black and muddy,
and a mighty whirlwind blew over it; but he went to the shore, and
repeated the words he had used before.
"What would she have now?" inquired the fish.
"She wants to be emperor," replied the fisherman.
"Go home," said the fish, "she is emperor already."
So he went home again, and as he came near, he saw his wife sitting on
a very lofty throne made of solid gold, with a crown on her head, full
two yards high; and on each side of her stood her guards and
attendants in a row, ranged according to height, from the tallest
giant to a little dwarf, no bigger than one's finger. And before her
stood princes, and dukes, and earls; and the fisherman went up to
her, and said--
"Wife, are you emperor?"
"Yes," said she, "I am emperor."
"Ah!" said the man, as he gazed on her, "what a fine thing it is to be
emperor!"
"Husband," said she, "why should we stay at being emperor? We will be
pope next."
"O wife, wife!" said he. "How can you be pope? There is but one pope
at a time in Christendom."
"Husband," said she, "I will be pope this very day."
"But," replied the husband, "the fish cannot make you pope."
"What nonsense!" said she. "If he can make an emperor, he can make a
pope; go and try him."
So the fisherman went; but when he came to the shore the wind was
raging, the sea was tossed up and down like boiling water, and the
ships were in the greatest distress and danced upon the waves most
fearfully. In the middle of the sky there was a little blue; but
towards the south it was all red, as if a dreadful storm was rising.
The fisherman repeated the words, and the fish appeared before him.
"What does she want now?" asked the fish.
"My wife wants to be pope," said the fisherman.
"Go home," said the fish; "she is pope already."
Then the fisherman went home, and found his wife sitting on a throne,
with three crowns on her head, while around stood all the pomp and
power of the Church. On each side were two rows of burning lights of
all sizes; the greatest as large as a tower, and the smallest no
larger than a rushlight.
"Well, wife," said the fisherman, as he looked at all this grandeur,
"are you pope?"
"Yes," said she; "I am pope."
"Well," replied he, "it is a grand thing to be pope; and now you must
be content, for you can be nothing greater."
"I will consider about that," replied the wife.
Then they went to bed; but Dame Alice could not sleep all night for
thinking what she should be next. At last morning came, and the sun
rose.
"Ha!" thought she, as she looked at it through the window, "cannot I
prevent the sun rising?"