In the Brothers Grimm tale “The Fisherman and His Wife,” the wife finally wants to become God.
The fisherman catches an enchanted flounder that can grant wishes and releases it. His wife repeatedly sends him back to demand a better home and greater authority. Each new request is granted, but her satisfaction never lasts, and the sea becomes increasingly stormy as her ambition grows.
Her final demand is to become like God, with power over the sun and moon. The enchanted fish responds by undoing all the earlier wishes. The fisherman and his wife return to their original poor hut, ending the cycle of escalating desire.
The tale is frequently confused with versions in which the final request is to become pope or emperor. Those figures may appear in related adaptations, but the Grimm story’s final demand is explicitly divine in scale.