The Frog Prince

Part One · The Golden Ball

Once upon a time, a king had a daughter so lovely that the sun itself was amazed whenever it shone on her face. Near the castle was a great dark forest, and in the forest, under an old lime tree, there was a cool, deep well. On hot days, the little princess went out to the well and sat on its edge. Her favorite toy was a golden ball, and she liked to toss it high in the air and catch it again.

One day, the ball did not come down into her hand. It hit the ground, rolled to the edge of the well and fell in with a plop. The princess looked down, but the water was so dark and deep that she could not see the bottom. She began to cry, and she cried louder and louder, until nothing in the world could comfort her.

"What is the matter, Princess?" said a voice. "Your crying would make a stone feel sorry for you." She looked around and saw a frog, who had pushed his wide, wet head out of the water. "Oh, it is you, old splasher," she said. "I am crying because my golden ball has fallen into the well."

"Stop crying," said the frog. "I can help you. But what will you give me if I bring your toy back?" "Anything you like," said the princess. "My dresses, my pearls and jewels, even the golden crown I am wearing." "I do not want your dresses or your pearls or your crown," said the frog. "But if you will let me be your friend, I will fetch your ball."

"I would like to sit next to you at your table," the frog went on. "I would like to eat from your little golden plate, and drink from your little cup, and sleep in your room. If you promise me all of that, I will dive down and bring back your ball." "Oh yes," said the princess. "I promise you everything you ask, if you will only bring me my ball."

Part Two · The Promise

But she was thinking, "What nonsense that frog is talking! He lives in the water with the other frogs, and he could never be anybody's friend." The frog dived down, and a moment later he came up with the ball in his mouth. He tossed it onto the grass, and it rolled to her feet, bright and shining.

The princess was so happy to see her beautiful toy again that she snatched it up and ran off with it. "Wait! Wait!" cried the frog. "Take me with you! I cannot run as fast as you!" But however loudly he croaked, she would not stop to listen, and she ran all the way home. Soon she had forgotten about the poor frog, who had to hop sadly back into his well.

The next evening, the princess was sitting at the table with the king and all the court, eating from her little golden plate. Suddenly something came slowly up the marble staircase: splish, splash, splish, splash. Then there was a knock at the door, and a little voice called, "Youngest princess, open the door for me! Do you not remember what you promised me by the cool water of the well?"

The princess ran to the door and opened it a crack, and there sat the frog! She shut the door at once and hurried back to her seat, and her heart was thumping. The king saw how frightened she was. "My child, what is the matter?" he asked. "Is there a giant at the door who has come to carry you away?" "No," she said. "It is only a frog."

"What does the frog want with you?" "Father, yesterday I was playing by the well, and my golden ball fell in. The frog brought it back to me, and I promised him he could be my friend. But I never thought he could come out of the water. Now he is at the door, and he wants to come in." Just then the frog knocked a second time and called out the same words.

Part Three · Faithful Heinrich

The king said, "What you have promised, you must do. Go and let him in." So the princess opened the door, and the frog hopped in and followed her all the way to her chair. "Lift me up beside you," he said. She did not want to, but the king looked at her sternly, so she lifted the frog onto the chair, and then onto the table.

"Now push your little golden plate closer, so that we can eat together." She did it, although anyone could see that she wished she were somewhere else. The frog ate well, but the princess could hardly swallow a bite. At last he said, "I have eaten enough, and now I am tired. Please carry me up to your room, and find me a soft place to sleep."

The princess began to cry again, because she did not like to touch a cold, wet frog, and she did not want him in her beautiful room. But then she thought about the dark, dangerous well. The frog had gone down into the cold water for her, when nobody else would. So she picked him up gently in her two hands and carried him upstairs, and she set him down on a soft pillow in the corner.

"Good night, little friend," she said quietly. "Thank you for my golden ball. I am sorry I ran away and forgot you." At that very moment, the frog was gone, and in his place stood a young prince with kind and smiling eyes. "A wicked witch put a spell on me," he said. "Nobody could set me free but you, and only by keeping the promise you made."

The next morning, a splendid coach rolled up to the castle, drawn by eight white horses with plumes on their heads. Behind it stood the prince's faithful servant, Heinrich. When his master was turned into a frog, Heinrich had been so sad that he put three iron bands around his heart, so that it would not break. Now he had come to take the prince back to his father's kingdom.

As the coach drove away, the prince heard a loud crack behind him. "Heinrich, the coach is breaking!" he cried. "No, my lord," said Heinrich. "It is a band from my heart. I put it there when you were in the well, and now I am so glad that it has burst." Twice more on the road there was a crack, and each time it was an iron band springing from the heart of the happy servant.

The prince and the princess became the best of friends, and in time they were married. The old well under the lime tree was never filled in. They kept it clean and cool for the frogs, and whenever the princess passed it, she remembered a small green friend and a promise she had almost not kept.