The Frog King

Once upon a time, there was a very old, creaky king ruling in a vast kingdom. The king had a daughter who was famous for her beauty, far and wide. The pretty princess enjoyed spending time in the royal garden, where she walked or played hide and seek with her friends. It was filled with yellow roses and daisies and clover, underneath the large oak trees.

One day, she was in her favourite spot – by the deep well. She was listening to the bubbling of the water, throwing and catching her little golden ball and humming a tune to herself. The little ball glinted beautifully in the sun. But then the light shone in her eyes from the reflection, she dropped the ball into the well, and it disappeared into the deep, dark depths.

The princess started crying sadly, because that was her favourite toy. And as she was crying, she heard a growly voice coming right out of the well: “Why are you crying, princess? Ribbit, ribbit.”

The princess was so surprised that she stopped sobbing and in a few moments, she saw a little creature with big bulging eyes in the water. It was a small green frog. He quickly realized why the princess was sad and he said to her: “Don’t cry, I can bring you your golden ball back. But what can you give me in return?”

“Anything you want, dear, sweet frog. Pearls, diamonds, whatever would make you happy,” said the princess.

“No, no, no. I don’t need any of that. I just want to be your best friend. I want to sit at your gorgeous table and sleep in your soft bed with you. If you can promise me that, I will give you your golden ball back,” he said.…