The Story of the Frog Prince

Chapter 1

Once upon a time there was a beautiful princess. Her favorite toy was a golden ball which her father, the King, had given her for her thirteenth birthday. The princess took the ball everywhere. She loved to throw it high into the air and watch the sun reflect from it's surface. She liked to pretend that her ball was really the sun itself and that she could throw the sun and catch it.

Her parents had told the princess never to enter the forest which ran close to the walls of the castle, but she had been so intent on running after her ball that she had wandered into the forest without realizing it.

The princess threw the ball again and it fell into an old overgrown well. The princess knelt by the edge of the well and watched in horror as her golden ball fell into the deep, dark waters of the well.

She was upset that she had lost her favorite plaything, but she was even more upset when she realized that her parents would want to know where she had lost her ball. They would be very angry to know that she had entered the forest.

The princess began to cry as though her heart were broken.

"What's the matter, Princess?", asked a harsh croaking voice.

The princess looked around in confusion. She had been sure that she was alone beside the well. Then she realized that an ugly little frog was sitting on the side of the well. He blinked at her and asked again, "What's the matter, Princess? Why are you crying?"

The princess was so startled to hear the frog speak that for a moment she forgot to cry. Then she got angry for having been startled. "I'm crying because my golden ball fell into the well," she said gruffly.

"Perhaps I can get your ball for you," said the frog.

"Oh, would you?" The princess wiped her nose on her silk sleeve.

"What will you give me if I get the ball for you?" asked the frog.

The princess thought for a moment. "I'll give you my golden crown,"she said. This would be no great sacrifice for her since she had six more crowns back home at the castle.

"What would I do with your golden crown?" asked the frog. "It would be much to large and heavy for me. It would pull me down in the water and drown me."

"I will give you my necklace of pearls," said the princess.

"What would I do with your necklace of pearls?" asked the frog. "It would tangle in my feet when I tried to hop and I would fall."

"I could give you one of my ruby finger rings. It is small and wouldn't hurt you," said the princess.

"What would I do with a ruby finger ring?" asked the frog."It would not fit my finger. It would fall off and I would be left with nothing."

"I could give you one of my silk slippers to sleep in," said the princess.

The frog looked at her and blinked. "I do not want to sleep in your slipper, but that does give me an idea. Would you promise to do anything I ask if I get the ball for you?"

"I promise," the princess replied.

The frog said,"I will get your ball if you promise to let me sit next to you at the supper table and eat from your golden dish and drink from your golden cup. I want to sleep in your golden bed on the pillow next to your head AND I want you to kiss me good morning when we awaken."

The princess thought only a moment before replying, "I promise." To herself she thought, "This foolish frog would die if he left the well. I will not have to do any of the things he has requested."

The frog dived deep into the well. The cold, dark water closed over his head as he went deeper and deeper. Far below he saw the golden glow of the ball looking like the sun on a cloudy day.

The frog scooped the ball up with his mouth and swam toward the surface. The ball was much heavier than he had anticipated and he was barely able to lift it out of the water.

The Princess snatched the ball from the frog's mouth and ran as fast as she could toward the castle.

The frog was left hopping after her and crying "Princess, wait! Do not forget your promise! Princess!" in his hoarse, croaky voice.

The princess quickly forgot all about the frog. There was much merriment at the castle with good food and song and all other fine and rare things to please the king and his court. She ate well that night and slept on her fine feather bed with little more than watery dreams to remind her of her lost ball or the frog who had returned it to her.

The next night the king and queen and all their guests were enjoying a delicious meal, when a loud knock was heard at the door.

A page quickly ran to open the door. He was amazed to find no one but a small frog before the door. The page started to kick the frog from the mat, but the frog loudly said,

"Princess with the fairest face
You have failed to keep your grace
A promise you have made to me
Tell me then, why you did flee?

Take me in to share your fare
Place me on the table there.
You must keep your promise true
Or this day you'll surely rue."

The page looked even more amazed to hear the frog talking. He turned to the steward, who turned to the chancellor, who whispered to the king and asked him what to do.

The king whispered to the chancellor, who spoke to the steward, who ordered the page to bring the frog to the king.

The page gingerly picked the frog up by one leg and carried him to the foot of the king's throne.

The frog's skin was dry and cracked from his long journey from the forest well and his eyes were dull with dust.

The king himself carefully picked up the frog and placed him in a bowl of scented water.

The king's subjects were amazed to see their ruler treating a frog as though he were the honored minister of a foreign land. The king's physicians looked at each other and rolled their eyes. They feared that their lord had lost his mind.

The water quickly refreshed the frog and he was soon glistening bright as an emerald as he sat on the edge of the dish and spoke with the king.

The frog croaked loud enough for the whole court to hear as he related his story.

The princess grew red in the face when her father looked at her and asked, "What did you promise him, Daughter?"

"I promised to let him eat from my plate and sleep in my bed, but...Oh, Father! I never thought I would have to keep my promise. I didn't think he would ever leave the well." The princess clasped her hands together and tears rolled down her cheeks, silently begging her father to let her break her promise.

The king looked sternly at his daughter. "This creature risked his life to give you aid in your time of need. You must honor your promise."

"But, Father, he's wet and slimy..."

"I doubt if he is any more slimy than he was when you begged him to help you. You gave your word and you must keep it. The most precious possession anyone has is his good word. Those of royal blood have more reason than most to keep their promises. The only surety your subjects have is the knowledge that their ruler will honor his promises."

The princess hung her head in shame, for she knew that her father's words were true. She slowly walked to the dish where the frog was sitting and gingerly picked him up with two fingers.

The princess placed the frog on the edge of her plate and the meal resumed. The frog had a good appetite and seemed to enjoy the meal and the merriment of the court immensely. His bright little eyes snapped at the jester's tricks and he laughed in a froggy sort of way at the jokes that accompanied the meal.

The princess, on the other hand,looked miserable. She did not touch a bite and seemed on the verge of fainting when the frog snatched up a fly to serve as dessert to his meal.

At last it was time for bed. The princess once again began to weep and appealed to her father to have the frog put outside. The king was firm, "You promised he could sleep in your bed. You must keep your promise." No amount of tears could change the king's mind.

Finally, the princess picked up the frog by the scruff of the neck and carried him at arm's length up the winding stairway to her room.

When the princess got to her room she placed the frog in a dark corner of the room as far as possible from her bed. When she turned to dress in her nightgown the frog quietly jumped across the room to sit at her feet. When the princess's head emerged from the neck of her gown and she saw the frog sitting so close to her, she let out a startled little squeal and quickly jumped onto her bed. "Go away!" she said angrily.

The frog blinked at her and looked disgusted.

"Princess with the fairest face
You have failed to keep your grace
A promise you have made to me
Tell me then, why you do you flee?

Take me in to share your bed
Place me where you lay your head.
You must keep your promise true
Or this day you'll surely rue."

At that, the frog jumped from the floor onto the bed. "You must keep your promise or I will tell your father," he threatened.

The princess pulled an ugly face. "No!" she shouted,"I will not have you in my bed! My father may rule the kingdom, but I am the ruler of my person. I will not sleep with a frog!"

With that, the princess picked up the frog and threw him with all her might toward the door. The frog hit the door frame with a sickening thump and didn't move.

The princess's eyes went wide and her face went as white as her nightgown. She was shocked at herself. She had never hurt anything in her life. She watched the frog for a full minute and did not see any sign of movement or breath.

She got down off the bed and hesitantly poked the frog with one finger. The frog was cold and clammy, of course, but he seemed to be even colder than before.

The princess gently picked up the frog and set him on her pillow. She continued to look at him closely, watching for any sign of life. "I'm sorry, froggy," she whispered. "I didn't mean to hurt you. I should have kept my promise." With that, the princess kissed the frog gently on the tip of his nose.

As soon as her lips touched the frog, there was a blinding flash of light. Instead of a frog lying on her pillow there was a handsome young man dressed in a mottled green tunic. He blinked several times and then seemed to realize where he was. He sat up quickly and tried to get off the bed, but his legs would not hold him and he quickly sat down again.

"Thank you, Princess." he said in a voice what was not at all croaky. "You have broken the spell."

"The spell?" asked the princess in confusion.

"An evil witch put a spell on me because I refused to marry her. She said that I would remain a frog until a beautiful princess would share her meal with me and take me into her bed and kiss me. You have kept your promise and I am once again the man I used to be. Thank you."

The princess and the former frog talked all night long. When the morning came she once again kissed him, but this time lovingly and with a glad heart.

When the king saw them coming down the stairs in the morning he insisted that they marry at once. The frog (who was really a prince) took her to his own kingdom where they lived happily ever after.

The End