he should have told the truth

There once was a Princess. She was not an ordinary princess, however. This Princess loved to play alone in the palace gardens while she tossed around her favourite beaming golden ball.

Now, the problem with playing alone was that no one was ever there to catch the ball if she tossed it too high in the air. One day, as she was running around lilies and daisies and hedges and roses, she tossed her ball higher in the air than she ever had before.

SPLASH!!

Her beautiful golden ball had plopped right into a small pond nearby! She ran over to the pond and watched sadly as the golden sphere sank deeper and deeper into the water. The princess looked down at her dress. She was wearing her favourite golden dress; the sparkles and gems on the front of the brilliant gown were rare and she was afraid that if she entered the water she would destroy her outfit. Frustrated with her situation, the princess began to cry.

Suddenly, the Princess heard a strange noise coming from the middle of the water.  Hop! Hop!

“Do you not know how to swim?” asked a small frog. Hop! The Princess looked up and scrunched her face up at the sight of the green creature sitting on the lily pad.

“I do,” she replied.

“Well, why don't you come on in?” he asked.

“I don't want to spoil my beautiful gold dress!“ the Princess replied, rolling her eyes at the frog.

“Well, I suppose I could get it for you...” the frog started.

“You can? Oh! Please do! Please do!” she cried.

But before he jumped into the water, the frog turned to her and asked:

“What will you give me in return for grabbing your golden ball?”

“Oh! You can have anything you desire!” the Princess replied, impatient to be playing again.

“What I would like is a friend. That's all. A friend to spend time with me, to eat supper with me, to read for me, to sleep beside me, and to kiss me goodnight!” the frog said.

“Anything! Anything!” the Princess cried.

And with that, the small green frog hopped into the water and retrieved the Princess' gold ball. The minute he handed it over, the girl ran around giggling and tossing her beloved ball up in the air; she had completely forgotten all about the frog.

At supper, the girl was seated at the table with her father, the King. Before either of them could take a bite, there came a small knock at the door. The King got up and walked to open it. Hop! Hop! Hop! In walked the small green frog.

“I have come to eat supper with you, Princess!” the frog said happily, hopping up on the table. The Princess gently grabbed the frog and placed him outside the door.

SLAM!!

She turned her heel and sat down at her spot once more, ignoring the suspicious look from the king.

“And who was that, Princess?” he asked her.

“Oh, no one,” she replied.

The stern look from her father caused her to go red with embarrassment. She told him that she had promised the frog that she would spend time with him, and eat supper with him, and read for him, and let him sleep with her, and kiss him goodnight.

“But I don't want to hang out with him. He's gross!” she continued.

“A promise is a promise, Princess. We must always keep our promises,” the King said wisely. With that the girl slowly shuffled over to the door and opened it up.

Hop! Hop! Hop!

The frog ate supper with her, and then followed the Princess into her bedroom where she began to read.

“What are you reading?” he asked trying to peer over her shoulder to see.

“Nothing,” she replied shrugging him off.

Sadly, the frog hopped over to her bed and sat down on her pillow. Before he could get comfortable, the Princess ran over to him, picked him up, and placed him by the window.

“But you promised!” he cried.

She sighed and took him back with her to bed. She read him a bedtime story and, surprisingly, the frog was quite smart and funny. She actually enjoyed his company.

When it was time to sleep, the frog asked her for a bedtime kiss. She refused, scrunching her face once more at the sight of the green creature before her.

The Princess shut out the light and tried to go to sleep. Suddenly, she heard the sounds of weeping. She turned the light back on to see the frog beside her, wiping tears from his eyes.

She was hit with a wave of guilt for making the poor frog cry. She tucked him in bed beside her and kissed him gently.

WHOOOSH!!

All of a sudden, the small green frog transformed into a handsome young prince right before her eyes; she jumped back from the bed in surprise. The Prince informed her that an evil witch had put a spell on him and only a kiss could return him back to his original state. It just so happened that the Princess was the first one to break the spell.

Forever after, the Prince and Princess were able to play together in the palace gardens. The Princess was happier than ever to have a playmate and, whenever she accidently threw the ball too high in the air, she was ecstatic to have a companion to go and fetch it for.One fine evening a young princess put on her bonnet and clogs, and went out to take a walk by herself in a wood; and when she came to a cool spring of water with a rose in the middle of it, she sat herself down to rest a while. Now she had a golden ball in her hand, which was her favourite plaything; and she was always tossing it up into the air, and catching it again as it fell.

    After a time she threw it up so high that she missed catching it as it fell; and the ball bounded away, and rolled along on the ground, until at last it fell down into the spring. The princess looked into the spring after her ball, but it was very deep, so deep that she could not see the bottom of it. She began to cry, and said, 'Alas! if I could only get my ball again, I would give all my fine clothes and jewels, and everything that I have in the world.'

    Whilst she was speaking, a frog put its head out of the water, and said, 'Princess, why do you weep so bitterly?'

    'Alas!' said she, 'what can you do for me, you nasty frog? My golden ball has fallen into the spring.'

    The frog said, 'I do not want your pearls, and jewels, and fine clothes; but if you will love me, and let me live with you and eat from off your golden plate, and sleep on your bed, I will bring you your ball again.'

    'What nonsense,' thought the princess, 'this silly frog is talking! He can never even get out of the spring to visit me, though he may be able to get my ball for me, and therefore I will tell him he shall have what he asks.'

    So she said to the frog, 'Well, if you will bring me my ball, I will do all you ask.'

    Then the frog put his head down, and dived deep under the water; and after a little while he came up again, with the ball in his mouth, and threw it on the edge of the spring.

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    As soon as the young princess saw her ball, she ran to pick it up; and she was so overjoyed to have it in her hand again, that she never thought of the frog, but ran home with it as fast as she could.

    The frog called after her, 'Stay, princess, and take me with you as you said,'

    But she did not stop to hear a word.

    The next day, just as the princess had sat down to dinner, she heard a strange noise - tap, tap - plash, plash - as if something was coming up the marble staircase, and soon afterwards there was a gentle knock at the door, and a little voice cried out and said:

'Open the door, my princess dear,

Open the door to thy true love here!

And mind the words that thou and I said

By the fountain cool, in the greenwood shade.'

    Then the princess ran to the door and opened it, and there she saw the frog, whom she had quite forgotten. At this sight she was sadly frightened, and shutting the door as fast as she could came back to her seat.

    The king, her father, seeing that something had frightened her, asked her what was the matter.

    'There is a nasty frog,' said she, 'at the door, that lifted my ball for me out of the spring this morning. I told him that he should live with me here, thinking that he could never get out of the spring; but there he is at the door, and he wants to come in.'

    While she was speaking the frog knocked again at the door, and said:

'Open the door, my princess dear,

Open the door to thy true love here!

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And mind the words that thou and I said

By the fountain cool, in the greenwood shade.'

    Then the king said to the young princess, 'As you have given your word you must keep it; so go and let him in.'

    She did so, and the frog hopped into the room, and then straight on - tap, tap - plash, plash - from the bottom of the room to the top, till he came up close to the table where the princess sat.

    'Pray lift me upon chair,' said he to the princess, 'and let me sit next to you.'

    As soon as she had done this, the frog said, 'Put your plate nearer to me, that I may eat out of it.'

    This she did, and when he had eaten as much as he could, he said, 'Now I am tired; carry me upstairs, and put me into your bed.' And the princess, though very unwilling, took him up in her hand, and put him upon the pillow of her own bed, where he slept all night long.

    As soon as it was light the frog jumped up, hopped downstairs, and went out of the house.

    'Now, then,' thought the princess, 'at last he is gone, and I shall be troubled with him no more.'

    But she was mistaken; for when night came again she heard the same tapping at the door; and the frog came once more, and said:

'Open the door, my princess dear,

Open the door to thy true love here!

And mind the words that thou and I said

By the fountain cool, in the greenwood shade.'

    And when the princess opened the door the frog came in, and slept upon her pillow as before, till the morning broke. And the third night he did the same. But when the princess awoke on the following morning she was astonished to see, instead of the frog, a handsome prince, gazing on her with the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen and standing at the head of her bed.

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    He told her that he had been enchanted by a spiteful fairy, who had changed him into a frog; and that he had been fated so to abide till some princess should take him out of the spring, and let him eat from her plate, and sleep upon her bed for three nights.

    'You,' said the prince, 'have broken his cruel charm, and now I have nothing to wish for but that you should go with me into my father's kingdom, where I will marry you, and love you as long as you live.'

    The young princess, you may be sure, was not long in saying 'Yes' to all this; and as they spoke a brightly coloured coach drove up, with eight beautiful horses, decked with plumes of feathers and a golden harness; and behind the coach rode the prince's servant, faithful Heinrich, who had bewailed the misfortunes of his dear master during his enchantment so long and so bitterly, that his heart had well-nigh burst.

    They then took leave of the king, and got into the coach with eight horses, and all set out, full of joy and merriment, for the prince's kingdom, which they reached safely; and there they lived happily a great many years.

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