Part 1: The Royal Well
Once upon a time there was a Princess who was courted by suitor after suitor who came to the palace to win her hand. But it seemed to her that each of them looked at her without really seeing her at all.
She shook her head and sighed. “They act as if there is nothing more to a princess than her fine crown and royal dresses.”
One afternoon after one of these suitors left (at last! thought the Princess), she exclaimed, "This is too much! Sometimes I wish I were a little girl again, before I had to deal with all these suitors.” She especially remembered with fondness a favorite ball, one that sparkled in the sun when she would threw it high in the air. "I wonder what happened to that ball?" she thought. A quick search and there it was! Full of joy, she clutched her ball to her chest and ran outside to the palace yard, where she threw it higher and higher.
One time she threw the ball higher than ever and when she ran to catch it, she tripped on a tree stump. When the ball fell down, it plopped right into the royal well! She raced over to fetch it before it dropped too far down, but by the time she got there she could no longer see it in the well water.
“This is terrible!” she moaned. “My ball got lost in this well!”
Just then a green frog poked its head above the water. “Can I help you?” said the Frog.
“Yes, you can!” said the Princess. She thought it was odd that a frog could talk but then again, she wanted that ball. “You can go get my ball down that well!”
“No problem,” said the Frog. “But first there’s something I must ask of you.”
“Ask of me? What?” said the Princess.
“That you spend time with me today,” said the Frog.
“I’m not sure what that means,” said the Princess.
“Just spend time with me today,” repeated the Frog.
"All right, fine!" said the Princess. "Now, go get my ball!"
“Just spend time with me today," repeated the Frog.
“On it!” said the Frog. He dived deep into the well. A few moments later, he came up with the ball held high in one hand, dripping and sparkling.
“You did it!” said the Princess, taking it from him.
She turned to go.
“Wait a minute!” said the Frog. “You promised to spend time with me today!”
“I already did,” she said with a shrug. The Princess headed to the palace without looking back.
Part 2: A Special Guest
That night when the Princess sat at dinner with her family and royal advisers, there was a knock on the door. A servant opened the door but saw no one there. The Frog, standing down low, cleared his throat.
"Oh, down there!" said the servant, surprised.
“The Princess promised to spend time with me today,” said the Frog in as loud a voice as he could. “So here I am.”
“Daughter!” said the King from the far end of the table. “Did you promise to spend time today with this Frog, as he claims?”
“What if I did?” said the Princess with a shrug. After a pause, she added, “Oh, very well then. Come on in.”
"Did you promise to spend time today with this Frog, as he claims?"
The servants quickly set a new place setting for the Frog, and he hopped over to the royal dining table.
Conversation turned to a topic of concern in the kingdom. None of the royal advisers knew how to handle the matter.
“Father, if I may,” said the Princess. “Perhaps we could–“
“Stop!” said the King, cutting her off. “I have enough advisors, believe me.”
“If I may,” said the Frog, and it was the first time he had spoken at the table. “There is more to a princess than her fine crown and royal dresses.”
The Princess stared at the Frog. How could this little frog – and no one else – understand how she felt, deep down?
After dinner, the Frog bowed to the Princess. He said, “You have done what you said you would do. It is time for me to go.”
“No, wait!” said the Princess, “it’s not that late. How about a walk in the garden?”
The Frog was delighted.
Part 3: An Evening Walk
The two of them walked in the royal garden, the Frog hopping along the stone wall so that he and the Princess were at the same level and could talk more easily.
They laughed about many things. Later when the sun set, they admired the deep rosy red streaks it cast into the sky.
The Princess said, “You know, being with you tonight was a lot more fun than I thought it would be.”
“I had a good time with you, too,” said the Frog.
“Who knew?” said the Princess with a laugh. She leaned over and kissed the Frog lightly on his cheek.
At once, there was a puff of clouds and smoke. The small green frog changed into a young prince!
The Princess jumped back in surprise, and who could blame her? The Prince, who had been a frog just a moment ago, quickly told the princess not to worry. Years before, he said, an evil witch had put a spell on him that he must stay a frog until he was kissed by a princess. The witch had laughed an evil laugh, saying, “Like THAT will ever happen!” But now it did!
The Princess knew it must be true. The tone of voice of the Prince, how he listened to her, and especially his eyes, these were all the same. Now that the frog had returned to his true self as a Prince, the two of them could spend time together in a different way. Years later after they were married, they hired an artist to make a beautiful carved bowl to hold that favorite ball of hers. They placed the carved bowl on their royal dining room table, and when the sun shone in through the palace windows, the ball sparkled for all to see.
- Choose one character. How did that person or animal change/grow/learn by the end of the story?
- What do you think this story is trying to show you?
