In the olden time, when wishing was having, there lived a King,whose daughters were all beautiful; but the youngest was soexceedingly beautiful that the Sun himself, although he saw hervery, very often, was delighted every time she came out into thesunshine.
Near the castle of this King was a large and gloomy forest,where in the midst stood an old lime-tree, beneath whose branchessplashed a little fountain; so, whenever it was very hot, theKing's youngest daughter ran off into this wood, and sat down bythe side of the fountain; and, when she felt dull, would oftendivert herself by throwing a golden ball up into the air andcatching it again. And this was her favorite amusement.
Now, one day it happened that this golden ball, when the King'sdaughter threw it into the air, did not fall down into her hand,but on to the grass; and then it rolled right into the fountain.The King's daughter followed the ball with her eyes, but itdisappeared beneath the water, which was so deep that she could notsee to the bottom. Then she began to lament, and to cry more loudlyand more loudly; and, as she cried, a voice called out, "Whyweepest thou, O King's daughter? thy tears would melt even a stoneto pity." She looked around to the spot whence the voice came, andsaw a frog stretching his thick, ugly head out of the water. "Ah!you old water-paddler," said she, "was it you that spoke? I amweeping for my golden ball which bounced away from me into thewater."
"Be quiet, and do not cry," replied the Frog; "I can give theegood assistance. But what wilt thou give me if I succeed infetching thy plaything up again?"
"What would you like, dear Frog?" said she. "My dresses, mypearls and jewels, or the golden crown which I wear?"
The Frog replied, "Dresses, or jewels, or golden crowns, are notfor me; but if thou wilt love me, and let me be thy companion andplaymate, and sit at thy table, and eat from thy little goldenplate, and drink out of thy cup, and sleep in thy littlebed,—if thou wilt promise me all these things, then I willdive down and fetch up thy golden ball."
"Oh, I will promise you all," said she, "if you will only get memy golden ball." But she thought to herself, "What is the sillyFrog chattering about? Let him stay in the water with his equals;he cannot enter into society." Then the Frog, as soon as he hadreceived her promise, drew his head under the water and dived down.Presently he swam up again with the golden ball in his mouth, andthrew it on to the grass. The King's daughter was full of joy whenshe again saw her beautiful plaything; and, taking it up, she ranoff immediately. "Stop! stop!" cried the Frog; "take me with thee.I cannot run as thou canst."
But this croaking was of no avail; although it was loud enough,the King's daughter did not hear it, but, hastening home, soonforgot the poor Frog, who was obliged to leap back into thefountain.
The next day, when the King's daughter was sitting at table withher father and all his courtiers, and was eating from her ownlittle golden plate, something was heard coming up the marblestairs, splish-splash, splish-splash; and when it arrived at thetop, it knocked at the door, and a voice said—
"Open the door, thou youngest daughter of the King!"
So she arose and went to see who it was that called to her; butwhen she opened the door and caught sight of the Frog, she shut itagain very quickly and with great passion, and sat down at thetable, looking exceedingly pale.
But the King perceived that her heart was beating violently, andasked her whether it were a giant who had come to fetch her awaywho stood at the door. "Oh, no!" answered she; "it is no giant, butan ugly Frog."
"What does the Frog want with you?" said the King.
"Oh, dear father, yesterday when I was playing by the fountain,my golden ball fell into the water, and this Frog fetched it upagain because I cried so much: but first, I must tell you, hepressed me so much, that I promised him he should be my companion.I never thought that he could come out of the water, but somehow hehas managed to jump out, and now he wants to come in here."
At that moment there was another knock, and a voice said—
"King's daughter, youngest,
Open the door.
Hast thou forgotten
Thy promises made
At the fountain so clear
'Neath the lime-tree's shade?
King's daughter, youngest.
Open the door."
Then the King said, "What you have promised, that you must perform; go and let him in." So the King's daughter went and opened the door, and the Frog hopped in after her right up to her chair: and as soon as she was seated, he said, "Lift me up;" but she hesitated so long that the King had to order her to obey. And as soon as the Frog sat on the chair he jumped on to the table and said, "Now push thy plate near me, that we may eat together." And she did so, but as every one noticed, very unwillingly. The Frog seemed to relish his dinner very much, but every bit that the King's daughter ate nearly choked her, till at last the Frog said, "I have satisfied my hunger, and feel very tired; wilt thou carry me upstairs now into thy chamber, and make thy bed ready that we may sleep together?" At this speech the King's daughter began to cry, for she was afraid of the cold Frog, and dared not touch him; and besides, he actually wanted to sleep in her own beautiful, clean bed!
But her tears only made the King very angry, and he said, "Hewho helped you in the time of your trouble must not now bedespised!" So she took the Frog up with two fingers, and put himinto a corner of her chamber. But as she lay in her bed, he creptup to it, and said, "I am so very tired that I shall sleep well; dotake me up, or I will tell thy father." This speech put the King'sdaughter into a terrible passion, and catching the Frog up, shethrew him with all her strength against the wall, saying "Now willyou be quiet, you ugly Frog!"
But as he fell he was changed from a Frog into a handsome Princewith beautiful eyes, who after a little while became her dearcompanion and betrothed. One morning, Henry, trusted servant of thePrince, came for them with a carriage. When his master was changedinto a frog, trusty Henry had grieved so much that he had boundthree iron bands around his heart, for fear it should break withgrief and sorrow. The faithful Henry (who was also the trustyHenry) helped in the bride and bridegroom, and placed himself inthe seat behind, full of joy at his master's release. They had notproceeded far when the Prince heard a crack as if something hadbroken behind the carriage; so he put his head out of the windowand asked trusty Henry what was broken, and faithful Henryanswered, "It was not the carriage, my master, but an iron bandwhich I bound around my heart when it was in such grief because youwere changed into a frog."
Twice afterwards on the journey there was the same noise, andeach time the Prince thought that it was some part of the carriagethat had given way; but it was only the breaking of the bands whichbound the heart of the trusty Henry (who was also the faithfulHenry), and who was thenceforward free and happy.
