The Frog Prince

The Frog Prince Nesting Doll

The Frog Prince

One fine evening a young princess put on her bonnet and clogs, and went out to take a walk by herself in a wood; and when she came to a cool spring of water with a rose in the middle of it, she sat herself down to rest a while. Now she had a golden ball in her hand, which was her favorite plaything; and she was always tossing it up into the air, and catching it again as it fell.

After a time she threw it up so high that she missed catching it as it fell; and the ball bounded away, and rolled along on the ground, until at last it fell down into the spring. The princess looked into the spring after her ball, but it was very deep, so deep that she could not see the bottom of it. She began to cry, and said, 'Alas! if I could only get my ball again, I would give all my fine clothes and jewels, and everything that I have in the world.'

Whilst she was speaking, a frog put its head out of the water, and said, 'Princess, why do you weep so bitterly?'

'Alas!' said she, 'what can you do for me, you nasty frog? My golden ball has fallen into the spring.'

The frog said, 'I do not want your pearls, and jewels, and fine clothes; but if you will love me, and let me live with you and eat from off your golden plate, and sleep on your bed, I will bring you your ball again.'

'What nonsense,' thought the princess, 'this silly frog is talking! He can never even get out of the spring to visit me, though he may be able to get my ball for me, and therefore I will tell him he shall have what he asks.'

So she said to the frog, 'Well, if you will bring me my ball, I will do all you ask.'

Then the frog put his head down, and dived deep under the water; and after a little while he came up again, with the ball in his mouth, and threw it on the edge of the spring.

As soon as the young princess saw her ball, she ran to pick it up; and she was so overjoyed to have it in her hand again, that she never thought of the frog, but ran home with it as fast as she could.

The frog called after her, 'Stay, princess, and take me with you as you said,'
But she did not stop to hear a word.

The next day, just as the princess had sat down to dinner, she heard a strange noise - tap, tap - plash, plash - as if something was coming up the marble staircase, and soon afterwards there was a gentle knock at the door, and a little voice cried out and said:

'Open the door, my princess dear,
Open the door to thy true love here!
And mind the words that thou and I said
By the fountain cool, in the greenwood shade.'

Then the princess ran to the door and opened it, and there she saw the frog, whom she had quite forgotten. At this sight she was sadly frightened, and shutting the door as fast as she could came back to her seat.

The king, her father, seeing that something had frightened her, asked her what was the matter.
'There is a nasty frog,' said she, 'at the door, that lifted my ball for me out of the spring this morning. I told him that he should live with me here, thinking that he could never get out of the spring; but there he is at the door, and he wants to come in.'

While she was speaking the frog knocked again at the door, and said:

'Open the door, my princess dear,
Open the door to thy true love here!
And mind the words that thou and I said
By the fountain cool, in the greenwood shade.'

Then the king said to the young princess, 'As you have given your word you must keep it; so go and let him in.'

She did so, and the frog hopped into the room, and then straight on - tap, tap - plash, plash - from the bottom of the room to the top, till he came up close to the table where the princess sat.

'Pray lift me upon chair,' said he to the princess, 'and let me sit next to you.'

As soon as she had done this, the frog said, 'Put your plate nearer to me, that I may eat out of it.'

This she did, and when he had eaten as much as he could, he said, 'Now I am tired; carry me upstairs, and put me into your bed.' And the princess, though very unwilling, took him up in her hand, and put him upon the pillow of her own bed, where he slept all night long.

As soon as it was light the frog jumped up, hopped downstairs, and went out of the house.

'Now, then,' thought the princess, 'at last he is gone, and I shall be troubled with him no more.'

But she was mistaken; for when night came again she heard the same tapping at the door; and the frog came once more, and said:

'Open the door, my princess dear,
Open the door to thy true love here!
And mind the words that thou and I said
By the fountain cool, in the greenwood shade.'

And when the princess opened the door the frog came in, and slept upon her pillow as before, till the morning broke. And the third night he did the same. But when the princess awoke on the following morning she was astonished to see, instead of the frog, a handsome prince, gazing on her with the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen and standing at the head of her bed.

He told her that he had been enchanted by a spiteful fairy, who had changed him into a frog; and that he had been fated so to abide till some princess should take him out of the spring, and let him eat from her plate, and sleep upon her bed for three nights.

'You,' said the prince, 'have broken his cruel charm, and now I have nothing to wish for but that you should go with me into my father's kingdom, where I will marry you, and love you as long as you live.'

The young princess, you may be sure, was not long in saying 'Yes' to all this; and as they spoke a brightly colored coach drove up, with eight beautiful horses, decked with plumes of feathers and a golden harness; and behind the coach rode the prince's servant, faithful Heinrich, who had bewailed the misfortunes of his dear master during his enchantment so long and so bitterly, that his heart had well-nigh burst.

They then took leave of the king, and got into the coach with eight horses, and all set out, full of joy and merriment, for the prince's kingdom, which they reached safely; and there they lived happily a great many years.

by The Brothers Grimm

The Frog Prince Folktale

Once upon a time, there lived a princess who adored objects made of gold. Her favorite toy in the world was a golden ball.

On hot days, she liked to sit beside an old well in the cool forest, tossing the ball in the air. One day, the ball slipped from her fingers into the well, which was so deep that the princess could not see the bottom.

"Oh dear! I'll never find it!" the princess said, and she began to cry.

Suddenly, a voice called out from below.

"What's the matter, beautiful princess? Why are you crying?"

The princess looked all around but couldn't see anyone.

"Down here, " said the little voice.

The princess looked down and saw a green frog poking its head out of the water.

"Oh, it's only you," she said. "If you must know, I'm upset because my golden ball fell into the well."

"I could get it back for you," said the frog.

"But what will you give me as a reward?"

Whatever you like, frog. How about my pearls and jewels," the princess suggested. "Or perhaps my golden crown?"

"What would I do with a crown?" said the frog.

"But I'll get your ball if you promise I can be your best friend, and come for dinner and sleep over at your house."

All right. You can be my best friend," said the princess. But secretly she thought the frog was talking a whole lot of nonsense.

The frog dove deep into the well and soon returned with the golden ball in its mouth. As soon as the frog dropped the ball at the princess's feet, she grabbed it and ran home, without even a thank you.

"Wait!" called the frog. "I can't run that fast."

But the princess paid no attention to him.

The princess forgot all about the frog, but the next day, as she was eating dinner with her family, she heard something come crawling splish-splash up the marble steps of the castle.

Then a voice called, "Princess, open the door!"

The curious princess ran to open it, but when she saw the frog standing there, all green and dripping, she slammed the door in his face.

The king could tell that something was the matter.

"Has a giant come to get you?" he asked.

"Oh, no, father. It's only an ugly frog," she replied.

"And what does a frog want with you?" asked the king.

As the princess explained, they heard more knocking.

"Let me in, Princess," the frog pleaded.

"Have you forgotten what you promised down by the well?"

" If you made a promise, daughter, you must keep it. Let him in," said the king.

With a long face, the princess opened the door. The frog followed her to the table and said, " Lift me up beside you."

"Don't be ridiculous," the princess said, but her father gave her such a look that she changed her mind.

The chair wasn't high enough so the frog asked to be lifted onto the table. And once there, he said, "Push your plate closer so I can share your dinner."

The princess moved her plate, but it was quite clear she didn't enjoy the rest of her meal. Once the frog had eaten his fill, he said, "I'm tired. Carry me upstairs so I can sleep in your room."

The thought of sharing her room with the cold damp frog so upset the princess that she began to cry again. But the king said, "Be on your way. It's not right to turn your back on someone who helped you when you were in troubles," father," said the princess, and she carefully picked up the frog with two fingers. When she got to her room, she set the frog down in the corner farthest from her bed.

But soon she heard the frog plop down beside her.

"I'm tired, too," said the frog. "Lift me into bed, or I'll tell your father."

So the princess tucked the frog into bed, with his little green head resting on a fluffy pillow.

But when she got back into her bed, she was surprised to hear the frog sobbing quietly.

"What's the matter now, little frog?" she asked.

"All I ever wanted was a friend," the frog replied. "But it's clear you don't like me at all! I might as well go back to the well."

At this, the princess felt very badly indeed.

She sat down on the edge of the frog's bed.

"I'll be your friend," she said, and this time she meant it. Then the princess gave him a kiss good night on his small green cheek.

Instantly, the frog was transformed into a very handsome young prince! The princess could not have been more surprised or pleased.

Of course the prince and princess became very good friends indeed. A few years later, they were married and lived happily ever after.

Folktale - Author Unknown