The Frog Princess
Once upon a time, there was a poor laborer and his wife who longed for a child. Every day, the woman would sigh, “If only we had a child!” And her husband would echo, “It would be so wonderful to have a little daughter!”
Their desire was so great that they decided to make a pilgrimage to a holy shrine, where they prayed fervently for a child. The woman, in her desperation, even said, “I would be grateful for a child, even if she were a frog!”
Moved by their prayers, God granted them a daughter—but not an ordinary daughter. Instead of a little girl, they were blessed with a tiny frog daughter. Despite her appearance, the couple adored their frog child and found joy in watching her hop around the house. They lovingly called her their Little Singing Frog.
However, the neighbors would whisper, “Their child is nothing but a frog!” Embarrassed by these remarks, the parents decided to keep their daughter hidden in a closet whenever visitors came by.
As time passed, the frog girl grew up without any friends her age, seeing only her parents. She would spend her days playing near her father as he worked in the vineyard. The old man found delight in her presence, often calling her his Little Singing Frog as she sang sweetly from the branches of trees.
As the years went by, the woman became old and weary, and the daily task of bringing her husband’s lunch to the vineyard grew too difficult for her. One day, the frog daughter offered to help.
“Mother,” she said, “let me carry Father’s lunch to him so you can rest.”
From that day on, the frog girl took on the responsibility of bringing her father’s lunch to the vineyard. While the old man ate, she would hop up into the trees and sing her lovely songs.
One day, as the Tsar’s youngest son rode by, he heard the beautiful singing and stopped to listen. He looked around but couldn’t see who was singing.
“Who is singing so sweetly?” he asked the old man.
At first, the laborer, embarrassed by his daughter’s appearance, pretended not to hear. But when the Prince asked again, he reluctantly replied, “There’s no one singing.”
The next day, the Prince rode by again at the same hour and heard the same sweet voice. Determined to find the singer, he stopped and said, “Surely, old man, someone is singing! She must be a lovely girl, and if I find her, I’ll marry her at once and take her home to my father, the Tsar!”
“Don’t be hasty, young man,” the laborer warned.
“I mean it,” the Prince insisted. “I’ll marry her if she’ll have me.”
“Are you certain?” the old man asked.
“Yes, I’m sure,” the Prince replied.
“Very well, let’s see,” said the laborer. He looked up into the tree and called, “Come down, Little Singing Frog! A Prince wants to marry you!”
The frog girl hopped down from the tree and stood before the Prince.
“She is my daughter, even though she looks like a frog,” the old man said.
“I don’t care what she looks like,” the Prince declared. “I love her singing, and I love her. I’ll marry her if she’ll have me. My father has asked my brothers and me to present our brides to him tomorrow, each bringing a flower. The Prince whose bride brings the loveliest flower will inherit the kingdom. Little Singing Frog, will you be my bride and come to Court with me tomorrow, bringing a flower?”
“Yes, my Prince,” the frog girl replied, “I will. But I must not shame you by arriving in the dust. I must ride. Will you send me a snow-white cock from your father’s barnyard?”
The Prince agreed, and before nightfall, the white cock arrived at the laborer’s cottage.
The next morning, the frog girl prayed to the Sun. “O golden Sun,” she said, “I need your help. Please give me a beautiful gown woven from your golden rays, so I won’t shame my Prince when I go to Court.”
The Sun heard her prayer and provided her with a gown made of cloth of gold. Instead of a flower, she took a spear of wheat in her hand. When the time came, she mounted the white cock and rode to the palace.
At the palace gate, the guards were hesitant to let her in. “This is no place for frogs,” they said. “You’re looking for a pond!”
But when she told them she was the Youngest Prince’s bride, they were too afraid to turn her away. They allowed her to pass through the gates, murmuring to each other, “The Youngest Prince’s bride? She looks like a frog, and wasn’t that a cock she was riding?”
As they watched her enter, they were astonished by what they saw. The frog girl, still on the white cock, shook out the folds of her golden gown. As the gown fell over her, she transformed into a beautiful maiden seated on a snow-white horse.
Inside the palace, the frog girl stood beside the other brides of the older princes. The two other girls were ordinary in appearance, but next to the Youngest Prince’s bride, they seemed plain and unremarkable.
The first bride presented the Tsar with a rose, but he barely glanced at it and turned away. The second bride offered a carnation, but the Tsar murmured, “This won’t do.”
When the Youngest Prince’s bride stepped forward, the Tsar’s eyes lit up. She gave him the spear of wheat, and he held it aloft, declaring, “This, the bride of the Youngest Prince, is my choice! She is beautiful, and she has brought me a symbol of both beauty and usefulness. The Youngest Prince shall be the Tsar after me, and she shall be the Tsarina!”
And so, the little frog girl, whom her parents once hid in shame, married the Youngest Prince and eventually became the Tsarina.