The Frog Prince

In olden times, when wishing still helped, there lived a king whose daughters were all beautiful, but the youngest was so lovely that even the sun, which has seen so many things, wondered at her whenever it shone in her face. Near the royal castle lay a great dark forest, and in the forest under an old lime tree was a well.

One day the youngest daughter was sitting by the edge of the well with her golden ball. She played with it, tossing it in the air and catching it. But once it fell from her hand, rolled to the ground, and kept rolling until it fell right into the water. The water was deep, so deep that she could not see the bottom. She began to weep, and the more she wept, the louder she cried.

Suddenly a frog stretched its head out of the water and said, 'Why are you weeping, princess? You are breaking my heart with your crying.' She answered, 'I have dropped my golden ball into the well. It is my favorite plaything.' The frog said, 'I will get your ball for you if you will promise to let me eat from your plate, drink from your cup, and sleep in your little bed.' The princess thought, 'What is this stupid frog talking about? He lives in the water with the other frogs and croaks. He cannot be a companion to anyone.' But she wanted her ball back, so she said aloud, 'Yes, I promise you all that you want, if you will only bring me my ball.' But she thought to herself, 'What does the frog mean by that? He can never get out of the water. But as soon as he had the ball in his hand, he climbed out, held it to her, and said, 'Here is your ball. Now keep your promise.' The princess took her ball and ran home with it, and the frog called after her, 'Wait, princess, take me with you!' But she did not listen to him.

The next day, when the princess was sitting at the table with the king and all the court and eating from her golden plate, something came crawling up the marble steps: plip, plop, plip, plop. When it reached the top, it knocked at the door and cried out, 'Princess, youngest daughter, open the door for me!' She ran to see who it was, but when she opened the door, there sat the frog. She slammed the door shut and sat down again, pale with fright. The king saw that her heart was beating fast and asked, 'My child, what frightens you so? Is there a giant at the door who wants to carry you away?' 'No,' she said, 'it is no giant, but a disgusting frog.' 'What does the frog want with you?' 'Ah, dear father,' she answered, 'yesterday when I was playing by the well in the forest, my golden ball fell into the water. Because I cried so much, the frog brought it out again, and because he insisted, I promised him that he could be my companion, but I never thought he could get out of the water. Now he is at the door and wants to come in.' Just then there was a second knock, and the frog cried out:

'Princess, youngest daughter, Open the door for me! Don't you remember what you said Yesterday by the cool water's edge? Princess, youngest daughter, Open the door for me!'

The king said, 'What you have promised, you must keep. Go and let him in.' She opened the door, and the frog hopped in and followed her to her chair. There he sat and cried, 'Lift me up beside you.' She refused until the king ordered her to do it. When the frog was on the chair, he wanted to be on the table, and when he was there, he said, 'Now push your golden plate a little nearer, so that we may eat together.' She did it, but it was easy to see that she did not do it willingly. The frog enjoyed what he ate, but almost every bite that she took stuck in her throat. Finally he said, 'I have eaten enough and am tired. Now carry me to your room and make your little silk bed ready, and we will lie down and sleep.' The princess began to weep and was afraid of the cold frog, who she did not want to touch, and yet she had to do what her father wanted. But the frog was angry and cried, 'Have you forgotten what you promised yesterday by the well? The well water was cool, but you made my heart hot. Keep your promise! Come, let me sleep, or I will tell your father.' Then she was so angry that she picked him up and threw him with all her might against the wall. 'Now you will have your peace, you disgusting frog!'

But when he fell, he was no longer a frog but a prince with beautiful, kind eyes. He became her dear companion and husband. The king was delighted and ordered a great celebration. The next morning, a splendid carriage drawn by eight white horses drove up to the door. The horses had ostrich feathers on their heads and were harnessed with golden chains. Behind the carriage stood the prince's faithful servant, young Heinrich. Young Heinrich had been so sad when his master was transformed into a frog that he had placed three iron bands around his heart to keep it from bursting with grief and sorrow. The carriage was to take the prince to his kingdom. Young Heinrich lifted the bride and the prince onto the carriage, got behind, and was full of joy about his master's transformation. When they had gone a short distance, the prince heard a crack from behind, as if something had broken. He cried out, 'Heinrich, the carriage is breaking!' 'No, my lord, not the carriage. It is a band from my heart that was put there in my great sorrow when you were a frog and imprisoned in the well.' Again and again, as they rode along, the carriage cracked, and each time the prince thought the carriage was breaking, but it was only another band breaking from young Heinrich's heart because his master was free and happy.