The pond was nice and cool and the princess sat down beside the ... “What a silly
frog,” thought the princess, “He can't get out of the pond and follow me all the.
THE FROG AND THE PRINCESS
Once upon a time there was a beautiful young princess. One evening, she put on her socks and shoes and went for a walk to the pond. The pond was nice and cool and the princess sat down beside the pond to rest. In her pocket she found her golden ball – her favourite toy! She liked to play “catch the golden ball” – she threw it up in the air and when it fell back down, she caught it. Throw it up; and catch it! The ball flew higher and higher up and then – it fell into the pond! Splash, the ball fell into the water! The princess looked into the water to find the golden ball, but she could not see it because the water was very deep. The princess was very sad and she started to cry. “If I could get my golden ball back, I would give up all my beautiful clothes and jewels and everything that I have in the world.” A frog in the pond heard what the princess said. It put its head out of the water and asked, “Princess, why are you crying?” “Oh, you nasty frog, you can’t help me!” said the princess. “My golden ball has fallen into the water.” The frog said, “I don’t want your jewels or your beautiful clothes; but if you love me and let me live with you in the palace and eat from your golden plate, and sleep next to you on your pillow, I will bring you your ball again.” “What a silly frog,” thought the princess, “He can’t get out of the pond and follow me all the way home. But maybe he can get my golden ball for me, if I tell him that he can have what he wants.” So she said to the frog, “If you bring me my ball, I will do what you ask.” The frog dived down deep into the pond and when he came back, he was carrying the golden ball in his mouth. He threw the ball onto the grass. The princess saw her golden ball, picked it up and ran home as fast as she could. She was very happy to have her golden ball again. The frog called after her, “Wait for me, princess! Take me with you as you promised!” But the princess did not stop and did not listen. In the evening, when the princess sat down to dinner, she heard a strange noise: plop-plash, plop-plash, plop-plash. Something was coming up the marble staircase; and then there was a soft knock-knock-knock at the palace door. A little voice called out: ’Open the door, my princess dear, Open the door to your true love here! And mind the words that you and I said By the fountain cool, in the greenwood shade.’
The princess ran to the door and opened it, and there she saw the frog. She had forgotten him! When the princess saw the frog, she was very frightened. She closed the door as fast as she could and ran back to her seat at the table. Her father, the king, could see that she was frightened. “What’s the matter?” he asked. “There is a nasty, slimy frog at the door. He helped me get my golden ball out of the pond this morning. I told him he could live here, but I didn’t think he could get out of the pond and come here by himself. Now he is at the door and wants to come in.”
While she was speaking the frog knocked at the door again, and said: ’Open the door, my princess dear, Open the door to your true love here! And mind the words that you and I said By the fountain cool, in the greenwood shade.’
Then the king said to the young princess, “You made a promise and you must keep it; so go and let him in.” The princess did what he told her. The frog hopped into the room and went straight ahead – plop-plash, plop-plash, plop-plash – to the table where the princess sat. “Please lift me up on the table so that I can sit next to you and eat with you.” The princess did what he asked. Then the frog said, “Put your golden plate nearer to me, so that I can also eat from it.” The princess did what he asked. The frog ate as much as he could, and then he said, “Now I am tired. Please carry me upstairs and put me on your pillow.” The princess didn’t want to, but she did it anyway. She picked him up, and put him on the pillow of her bed, where he slept all night long. When the sun came up in the morning, the frog woke up, jumped off the bed, hopped down the stairs and went out of the house. “Now he’s gone,” thought the princess, “at last he is gone and he will trouble me no longer.” But the princess was wrong. That night she heard the same sounds at the door – plop-plash, plop-plash, plop-plash. It was the frog, and he said: ’Open the door, my princess dear, Open the door to your true love here! And mind the words that you and I said By the fountain cool, in the greenwood shade.’
And when the princess opened the door the frog came in. And again, he ate from her golden plate and slept on the pillow in her bed. The next morning, he went away again. And on the third night, the same thing happened. But when the princess woke up the next morning, she was surprised to see, instead of the frog, a handsome prince. He was standing at the foot of her bed, looking at her with the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen. He told her that a wicked fairy had enchanted him and turned him into a frog. The only way to break the enchantment was that a princess must take him out of the pond and let him eat from her plate and sleep on her bed for three nights. “Thank you for breaking the wicked enchantment. I will love you as long as I live. Will you come with me to my father’s kingdom and marry me?” The beautiful princess said, “Yes”. Immediately, a beautiful coach pulled by eight horses arrived at the palace gates. Behind the coach rode the prince’s servant, faithful Heinrich, who had waited so long and been so sad while his master was enchanted. They said goodbye to the king, and got into the coach with eight horses, and travelled back to the prince’s home. And they lived happily every after.
