It is one of the earliest tales in the Nights and one of the tightest pieces of plotting in the collection.

The story

A poor fisherman casts his net four times. The fourth brings up a sealed copper jar. He opens it, and a jinni emerges who has been imprisoned for centuries — and who announces that he has sworn to kill whoever releases him, having spent the first centuries promising to reward his rescuer and the later ones growing bitter.

The fisherman cannot fight him. So he says he does not believe such an enormous being could have fitted inside so small a jar, and asks him to prove it. The jinni, insulted, turns to smoke and pours himself back in. The fisherman seals the jar.

Why it works

• The hero’s only asset is understanding the antagonist’s character, and the resolution follows from that rather than from luck.
• The jinni’s defeat comes from his own pride, so it feels just rather than convenient.
• The fourth cast is the rule of three plus the break — three ordinary catches, then the jar.

It is a thousand years old and it would pass a modern screenwriting workshop without a note.