The Frog-King

In olden times when wishing still helped one, there lived a king whose daughters were all beautiful, but the youngest was so beautiful that the sun itself, which has seen so much, was astonished whenever it shone in her face. Close by the King's castle lay a great dark forest, and under an old lime-tree in the forest was a well, and when the day was very warm, the King's child went out into the forest and sat down by the side of the cool fountain, and when she was bored she took a golden ball, and threw it up on high and caught it, and this ball was her favorite plaything.

Now it so happened that on one occasion the princess's golden ball did not fall into the little hand which she was holding up for it, but on to the ground beyond, and rolled straight into the water. The King's daughter followed it with her eyes, but it vanished, and the well was deep, so deep that the bottom could not be seen. At this she began to cry, and cried louder and louder, and could not be comforted. And as she thus lamented some one said to her,“What ails you, King's daughter? You weep so that even a stone would show pity.”She looked round to the side from whence the voice came, and saw a frog stretching forth its big, ugly head from the water.“Ah! old water-splasher, is it you?”said she;“I am weeping for my golden ball, which has fallen into the well.”

“Be quiet, and do not weep,”answered the frog,“I can help you, but what will you give me if I bring your plaything up again?”

“Whatever you will have, dear frog,”said she—“My clothes, my pearls and jewels, and even the golden crown which I am wearing.”

The frog answered,“I do not care for your clothes, your pearls and jewels, nor for your golden crown, but if you will love me and let me be your companion and play-fellow, and sit by you at your little table, and eat off your little golden plate, and drink out of your little cup, and sleep in your little bed—-if you will promise me this I will go down below, and bring you your golden ball up again.”

“Oh yes,”said she,“I promise you all you wish, if you will but bring me my ball back again.”She, however, thought,“How the silly frog does talk! All he does is to sit in the water with the other frogs, and croak! He can be no companion to any human being!”

But the frog when he had received this promise, put his head into the water and sank down, and in a short while came swimmming up again with the ball in his mouth, and threw it on the grass. The King's daughter was delighted to see her pretty plaything once more, and picked it up, and ran away with it.“Wait, wait,”said the frog.“Take me with you. I can't run as you can.”But what did it avail him to scream his croak, croak, after her, as loudly as he could? She did not listen to it, but ran home and soon forgot the poor frog, who was forced to go back into his well again.

The next day when she had seated herself at table with the King and all the courtiers, and was eating from her little golden plate, something came creeping splish splash, splish splash, up the marble staircase, and when it had got to the top, it knocked at the door and cried,“Princess, youngest princess, open the door for me.”She ran to see who was outside, but when she opened the door, there sat the frog in front of it. Then she slammed the door to, in great haste, sat down to dinner again, and was quite frightened. The King saw plainly that her heart was beating violently, and said,“My child, what are you so afraid of? Is there perchance a giant outside who wants to carry you away?”

“Ah, no,”replied she,“it is no giant, but a disgusting frog.”

“What does the frog want with you?”

“Ah, dear father, yesterday as I was in the forest sitting by the well, playing, my golden ball fell into the water. And because I cried so, the frog brought it out again for me, and because he so insisted, I promised him he should be my companion, but I never thought he would be able to come out of his water! And now he is outside there, and wants to come in to me.”

In the meantime it knocked a second time, and cried,

“Princess! youngest princess!

Open the door for me!

Do you not know what you said to me

Yesterday by the cool waters of the well?

Princess, youngest princess!

Open the door for me!”

Then said the King,“That which you have promised must you perform. Go and let him in.”She went and opened the door, and the frog hopped in and followed her, step by step, to her chair. There he sat and cried,“Lift me up beside you.”She delayed, until at last the King commanded her to do it. Once the frog was on the chair he wanted to be on the table, and when he was on the table he said,“Now, push your little golden plate nearer to me that we may eat together.”She did this, but it was easy to see that she did not do it willingly. The frog enjoyed what he ate, but almost every mouthful she took choked her. At length he said,“I have eaten and am satisfied; now I am tired, carry me into your little room and make your little silken bed ready, and we will both lie down and go to sleep.”

The King's daughter began to cry, for she was afraid of the cold frog which she did not like to touch, and which was now to sleep in her pretty, clean little bed. But the King grew angry and said,“He who helped you when you were in trouble ought not afterwards to be despised by you.”So she took hold of the frog with two fingers, carried him upstairs, and put him in a corner. But when she was in bed he crept to her and said,“I am tired, I want to sleep as well as you, lift me up or I will tell your father.”At this she was terribly angry, and took him up and threw him with all her might against the wall.“Now, you will be quiet, odious frog,”said she.

But when he fell down he was no frog but a King's son with kind and beautiful eyes. He by her father's will was now her dear companion and husband. Then he told her how he had been bewitched by a wicked witch, and how no one could have delivered him from the well but herself, and that to-morrow they would go together into his kingdom. Then they went to sleep, and next morning when the sun awoke them, a carriage came driving up with eight white horses, which had white ostrich feathers on their heads, and were harnessed with golden chains, and behind stood the young King's servant, faithful Henry. Faithful Henry had been so unhappy when his master was changed into a frog, that he had caused three iron bands to be laid round his heart, lest it should burst with grief and sadness. The carriage was to conduct the young King into his Kingdom. Faithful Henry helped them both in, and placed himself behind again, and was full of joy because of this deliverance. And when they had driven a part of the way the King's son heard a cracking behind him as if something had broken. So he turned round and cried,“Henry, the carriage is breaking.”

“No, master, it is not the carriage. It is a band from my heart, which was put there in my great pain when you were a frog and imprisoned in the well.”Again and once again while they were on their way something cracked, and each time the King's son thought the carriage was breaking;but it was only the bands which were springing from the heart of faithful Henry because his master was set free and was happy.

青蛙王子

在愿望还能变成现实的古代，有一个国王，他的几个女儿一个个都很漂亮。国王的幼女尤其美丽，见多识广的太阳每次照着她的面庞，也感到惊奇异常。王宫附近有一座幽暗的大森林，森林里一株老菩提树下面有一口井。炎热的白天，公主常到森林里去，坐在清凉的水井旁边，觉得无聊时，就把一只金球抛到天上，再接住它，这金球是她心爱的玩具。

有一次，公主的金球没有落在她高高举起的小手上，而是掉到了旁边的地上，然后滚到了水井里。公主眼睁睁地看着球掉下去不见了，水井很深，看不见底。公主哭了，哭声越来越大。就在她伤心哭泣的时候，有人问她：“出什么事了，公主？你这样难过，石头也会伤心的。”她扭头看声音传来的地方，只见一只青蛙从井里伸出又大又丑的脑袋。“哎呀，是你呀，划水的老家伙，”她说，“我哭我的金球，它掉到水里去了。”

“安静点儿，别哭。”青蛙回答说，“我有办法，要是我把你的玩具捞上来，你给我什么？”

“你想要什么都行，亲爱的青蛙，”她说，“我的衣服、我的珍珠和宝石，还有我戴的金冠。”

青蛙回答：“你的衣服、你的珍珠和宝石、你的金冠，我都不要。但是，如果你能喜欢我，要我做你的伙伴，和你一起玩耍，让我坐在你的餐桌上，坐在你身边吃你小金盘里的东西，喝你酒杯里的酒，在你的床上睡觉——你要是答应我这些，我就下去给你把金球拿上来。”

“好的，”她说，“只要你把金球给我拿上来，你要求什么我都答应。”她心里想：“这只傻乎乎的青蛙胡说什么呀，它和它的同类一起坐在水里呱呱乱叫，怎么能做人的伙伴呢？”

青蛙得到了许诺，脑袋伸进水里，沉下去一会儿，又游上来，嘴里噙着金球。它把球丢在草地上。公主又见到她心爱的玩具，高兴极了，捡起来就跑。“等一等，等一等，”青蛙叫喊着，“带上我，我跑不了你那么快。”它在公主后面拼命“呱呱！呱呱！”地叫，有什么用！她不听它叫，跑回家里，很快就把可怜的青蛙忘了，青蛙只得再跳回井里。

第二天，当公主同国王和大臣们在餐桌旁坐下，用她的小金盘吃饭的时候，大理石台阶上传来什么东西爬上来的啪嗒啪嗒的响声，它爬到了上面，一边敲门一边大喊大叫：“公主啊，小公主，快给我开门！”公主跑去看是谁在门外面，一开门，青蛙正蹲在门口。她赶紧关门，回到餐桌旁坐下，心里很害怕。国王看她心跳得很厉害，便说：“我的孩子，你害怕什么？门外有个巨人要把你抓走吗？”

“不，”公主回答，“门外没有巨人，是一只可恶的青蛙。”

“青蛙找你干什么？”

“亲爱的爸爸，昨天我在森林里坐在水井边玩，我的金球掉井里了。青蛙看我哭得厉害，就把球给我拿上来，因为它要求非得这样，我就答应了它做我的伙伴。但没想到它真能从井里跳出来。现在它就在门口，要进来找我。”

这时，外面再次传来敲门声，青蛙大声叫道：

公主啊，小公主，

请你给我开门。

你难道忘记昨天，

清凉的井水旁边，

向我许下的诺言？

公主啊，小公主，

请你给我开开门。

国王听了说道：“你答应人家什么，就得照办。去开门吧。”公主只好去开门。青蛙跳进来，一直跟随着她来到椅子旁，它蹲在地上喊：“抱我上去！”公主犹犹豫豫，最后还是国王下令她才把它抱了上去。青蛙登上椅子，又要上桌子。到了桌子上，它说：“把你的金盘子往我这边挪点，我们一起吃。”公主虽然照它说的做了，但谁都看得出她很不情愿。青蛙吃得津津有味，可是公主几乎一口也咽不下去。青蛙最后又说：“我吃饱了，也累了，把我抱到你的卧室，铺好你的丝绸小床，我们一起躺下睡觉。”

公主哭开了，她怕冰凉的青蛙，不敢碰它，现在它却要上她那漂亮干净的小床睡觉。可是国王生气了，说：“在你困难时帮助过你的人，你过后不应该瞧不起他。”于是公主便用两根手指夹住青蛙，提起来把它放在墙角。她上床了，青蛙爬过去说：“我累了，我要和你一样好好睡一觉。抱我上床，不然，我就告诉你父亲。”公主生气极了，抓起它猛力往墙上摔去：“现在你该安静了，你这讨厌的青蛙！”

它一落地，已不再是青蛙，而是一位王子，长着俊美而友善的眼睛。遵照国王的意愿，他成了公主亲爱的伴侣和丈夫。他对她说，他被一个恶毒的巫婆施了魔法，除了公主，任何人都无法把他从水井里解救出来，明天他们将一起前往他的王国。说完话，他们就睡着了。第二天早晨，太阳唤醒他们的时候，驶来了一辆八匹白马拉的马车，马头都插着洁白的鸵鸟羽毛，马身上挂着金链，车后立着一个人，这就是王子的侍从——忠诚的亨利。他的主人被巫婆变成一只青蛙后，忠诚的亨利非常痛苦忧伤，他让人在他胸部围上三道铁箍，以防心脏因痛苦悲伤而破裂。这辆马车来接王子回到他自己的王国。忠诚的亨利扶王子、公主上车，自己站在车后，为王子获救而欣喜万分。走了一程，王子听见他背后咔嚓一声响，好像什么东西折断了。他回过头去，大声说：“亨利，马车坏了？”

亨利回答说：“不，主人，马车没坏，是我心口上的铁箍断了，当你被困在井里，当你被变成青蛙，我的心痛苦万分。”路上又有两次响起咔嚓声，王子总以为是马车坏了，其实是忠诚的亨利心口的铁箍崩裂了，因为他的主人已经得救，并且获得了幸福。