may eat together She did but it was easy to see she did not do it willingly The frog enjoyed what he ate But almost every mouthful she took choked her At length the frog said I have eaten and am satisfi ed Now I am tired Carry me into your little room and make your little silken bed ready We will lie down and go to sleep The king’s daughter began to cry She was afraid of the cold frog that was now to sleep in her pretty clean bed But the king grew angry He who helped you in your trouble should not afterward be despised by you he said So she took hold of the frog with two fi ngers carried him upstairs and put him in a corner But when she was in bed he crept up to her He said I am tired and want to sleep as well as you Lift me up or I will tell your father The princess was terribly angry She threw him with all her might against the wall Now will you be quiet horrid frog she said 10
But when he fell down he was no frog but a king’s son with kind and beautiful eyes He told her he had been cursed by a wicked witch No one could have delivered him but herself By her father’s will he was now her dear companion and husband Tomorrow they would go together into his kingdom Then they went to sleep The next morning a carriage came driving up with eight white horses They had ostrich feathers on their heads and were harnessed with golden chains Behind stood the young prince’s servant Faithful Henry Faithful Henry had been so unhappy when his master was turned into a frog He had three iron bands laid around his heart The bands were to keep his heart from bursting with grief and sadness The carriage was to conduct the king’s son into his kingdom Faithful Henry helped them both in and placed himself behind He was full 11
of joy because of this deliverance When they had driven a part of the way the king heard a cracking behind him He turned round and cried Henry the carriage is breaking No master it is not the carriage It is the band from my heart It was put there in my great pain when you were a frog and imprisoned in the well Again and once again something cracked Each time the prince thought the carriage was breaking But it was only the bands springing from the heart of the Faithful Henry because his master was set free and happy 12
2 Sleeping Beauty Originally Named Little Briar-Rose A long time ago there were a king and queen who said every day If only we had a child They did not have one But once when the queen was swimming a frog crept out of the water on to the land It said to her Your wish shall be fulfi lled You shall have a daughter before a year has gone What the frog said came true The queen had a pretty little girl The king could not contain his joy and ordered a great feast He invited not only his kin and friends but also the Wise Women He hoped they might be kind and generous toward the child There were thirteen of the Wise Women in his 13
