Disclaimer: The fairytale The Frog Prince does not belong to me, and I am
making absolutely no money off of it.
The princess was beautiful - of course. The prince was handsome - of course. The stepmother was evil - of course. And their story began with a "Once upon a time." - of course.
Once upon a time, in a land far away, there lived a frog. Not just any frog, mind you, but a princess of frogs. She was young, kind, beautiful (for a frog), and in love with the prince frog of a neighboring country. Her life should have been perfect, and indeed it would have been if not for her Evil Stepmother. This was her father's second wife, and if there was one thing that she hated, it was seeing the princess frog happy. Instead of simply avoiding her, like any normal, rational person would do, she instead decided to do away with everything that her stepdaughter loved, starting with the prince frog.
And so, one day, she put her plan into action. Dressed up as an old beggar, she hopped up to the prince and began harassing him. Eventually he got so fed up with her that he ordered the guards to forcibly remove her. This gave her an excuse to cause a scene. The Evil Stepmother cast a spell on the prince - he would become a human, and stay one until a frog maiden kissed him. If that were to happen, then, and only then, would he turn back into a frog and regain the title of Prince.
"Of course," snickered the Evil Stepmother as she gloated at him, "no self-respecting frog girl would ever kiss one of those ugly, gawky, humans without some very good reason. And you can't tell anyone about the curse. So you're stuck a human forever. Ha!" And with that, she turned and hopped away, leaving behind a big, dejected human. Soon he turned to leave, in search of a frog maiden who wouldn't run away at the sight of him.
He didn't have to search long before he found one. When he had been walking just five minutes (humans travel much faster than frogs) he came upon the princess frog whose Evil Stepmother had started the whole mess. The princess was a good soul, kind even to humans, and so he hid and watched her. She was playing with her favorite toy, a golden ball that she tossed up into the air and caught, tossing it higher and higher until it got caught on a ledge high above the pond. When this happened, the prince came out of hiding and asked what he could do for her.
The princess was surprised to hear a human speak, but she politely responded that if he could bring her ball down to her, she would be much obliged.
"I'll get your ball," he said, "if you will promise to do something for me"
"I promise you that I'll do what you ask," she responded "if only you will get my ball for me." And without another word, the prince reached up to get the ball and handed it down to her.
"Now for your promise," he said, "I would like a kiss."
"A kiss?" the princess was disgusted by the very idea. But she had promised. And so she closed her eyes and gave the human a quick peck on the cheek.
Suddenly, there was a shower of sparks. The princess shielded her eyes, and when she looked again, there was the prince frog that she loved. She stared, amazed, as the prince told her what had happened. By the time he was done, the shock had worn off of her, and she was furious at her Evil Stepmother. So they went straightaway to her palace, found the Evil Stepmother, and banished her from the countries of both the frog princess and prince. They had quite a time explaining to the king why they were doing this, but in the end they won him over. And so they got married, had many little tadpoles, and lived happily ever after - of course.
The princess was beautiful - of course. The prince was handsome - of course. The stepmother was evil - of course. And their story began with a "Once upon a time." - of course.
Once upon a time, in a land far away, there lived a frog. Not just any frog, mind you, but a princess of frogs. She was young, kind, beautiful (for a frog), and in love with the prince frog of a neighboring country. Her life should have been perfect, and indeed it would have been if not for her Evil Stepmother. This was her father's second wife, and if there was one thing that she hated, it was seeing the princess frog happy. Instead of simply avoiding her, like any normal, rational person would do, she instead decided to do away with everything that her stepdaughter loved, starting with the prince frog.
And so, one day, she put her plan into action. Dressed up as an old beggar, she hopped up to the prince and began harassing him. Eventually he got so fed up with her that he ordered the guards to forcibly remove her. This gave her an excuse to cause a scene. The Evil Stepmother cast a spell on the prince - he would become a human, and stay one until a frog maiden kissed him. If that were to happen, then, and only then, would he turn back into a frog and regain the title of Prince.
"Of course," snickered the Evil Stepmother as she gloated at him, "no self-respecting frog girl would ever kiss one of those ugly, gawky, humans without some very good reason. And you can't tell anyone about the curse. So you're stuck a human forever. Ha!" And with that, she turned and hopped away, leaving behind a big, dejected human. Soon he turned to leave, in search of a frog maiden who wouldn't run away at the sight of him.
He didn't have to search long before he found one. When he had been walking just five minutes (humans travel much faster than frogs) he came upon the princess frog whose Evil Stepmother had started the whole mess. The princess was a good soul, kind even to humans, and so he hid and watched her. She was playing with her favorite toy, a golden ball that she tossed up into the air and caught, tossing it higher and higher until it got caught on a ledge high above the pond. When this happened, the prince came out of hiding and asked what he could do for her.
The princess was surprised to hear a human speak, but she politely responded that if he could bring her ball down to her, she would be much obliged.
"I'll get your ball," he said, "if you will promise to do something for me"
"I promise you that I'll do what you ask," she responded "if only you will get my ball for me." And without another word, the prince reached up to get the ball and handed it down to her.
"Now for your promise," he said, "I would like a kiss."
"A kiss?" the princess was disgusted by the very idea. But she had promised. And so she closed her eyes and gave the human a quick peck on the cheek.
Suddenly, there was a shower of sparks. The princess shielded her eyes, and when she looked again, there was the prince frog that she loved. She stared, amazed, as the prince told her what had happened. By the time he was done, the shock had worn off of her, and she was furious at her Evil Stepmother. So they went straightaway to her palace, found the Evil Stepmother, and banished her from the countries of both the frog princess and prince. They had quite a time explaining to the king why they were doing this, but in the end they won him over. And so they got married, had many little tadpoles, and lived happily ever after - of course.