Today, I would like to share with you a classic Grimm’s fairy tale, “The Frog Prince”. It is a story about commitment, friendship and kindness, suitable for people of all ages. It is not only interesting, but also teaches us some important life lessons.
The story tells of a beautiful little princess who, with the help of an ugly frog, recovers her beloved golden ball. The frog’s true identity, however, hides a surprising secret. In the end, through the king’s education and the little princess’s growth, they achieve a happy fairy tale ending.
1. The little princess and her golden ball
Once upon a time, there was a very sweet little princess who liked to play by the pool in the palace garden. One day, she took her favorite little golden ball to the pool. The golden ball sparkled and shone like the sun. The little princess happily threw the golden ball into the air, letting it fall again and again. However, this time, the little princess missed! The golden ball rolled “drip-drop” into the pool and sank with a “plop”.
Seeing her precious golden ball disappear, the little princess cried out in desperation. “My golden ball! My golden ball!” she cried, tears streaming down her face.
Just then, a strange voice came from the pool: “Little princess, don’t cry! I have a way to help you get your golden ball back.” The little princess dried her tears and looked around, but she found that the one talking was a frog with a big head! The frog was poking its head out of the water and staring at her with its round, bulging eyes.
“Really? You can help me get the golden ball back?” the little princess asked, half believing it.
The frog nodded and said, ‘Of course I can, but you have to promise me something in return.”
The little princess quickly replied, ’As long as you can help me get the golden ball back, I’m willing to give you all my pearls, gems, and even my golden crown!”
But the frog shook its head and said, “I don’t want any of that. I just want to be your good friend, eat and play with you, and even sleep with you at night in your little bed. If you promise me these conditions, I will immediately help you retrieve the golden ball.”
The little princess hesitated for a moment, but she really wanted to get the golden ball back, so she reluctantly agreed, ”Okay, I promise.”
But secretly she thought to herself, “Hmph, how can a frog be friends with a human? It was born in the pond and all it knows is croaking.”
The frog was overjoyed to hear this. It quickly jumped into the pond, and in no time at all, it surfaced with the golden ball in its mouth and placed it at the little princess’s feet.
“Here, this is your golden ball,” said the frog.
As soon as the princess had the golden ball, she ran off, completely forgetting her promise to the frog.
“Wait for me! Take me with you!” the frog shouted desperately after her, but the princess paid him no heed and ran straight back home.
2. The king’s teaching
The next evening, the princess was enjoying a sumptuous dinner with the king when there was a knock at the door and a familiar voice called out, “Princess, open the door!”
The princess was so frightened that she hurriedly ran to open the door, only to find the frog crouching there!
“Oh my God, it’s you again!” The princess was so panicked that she slammed the door shut and ran back to the table.
The king noticed that his daughter looked strange and asked with concern, “My child, what’s wrong? Why are you so panicked?”
The little princess did not dare hide anything and told her father exactly what had happened the previous day.
After listening to her, the king said to her with great earnestness, “My child, since you have already promised someone, no matter who it is, even if it is a frog, you must not go back on your word. Remember, you must be trustworthy. Besides, this frog has come to your aid when you needed help most, so how can you treat it like this?”
The little princess hung her head in shame, blushing as she reopened the door.
The frog bounded in, looking particularly excited. It followed the little princess to the table, put on a napkin and began to eat voraciously. However, the little princess had no appetite and could not eat at all.
After finishing eating, the frog said, “Now, I want to go to your bedroom to rest and sleep with you.”
The little princess felt it was unacceptable. She couldn’t help crying, “No, no! My bed is clean and beautiful, how can I let a frog like you climb on it?”
The king heard this and severely criticized the little princess, ”My child, you cannot dislike someone or an animal because of their appearance. Especially when you are in trouble, they have helped you before, you should be grateful.”
With no choice, the princess picked up the frog with two fingers and took it to her bedroom.
When she had just lain down to go to sleep, the frog crawled over and said, “I also want to sleep in your little bed and enjoy a comfortable night.”
The princess finally could not stand it anymore, angrily grabbed the frog and slammed it hard against the wall: ”You annoying creature, you’re really annoying!”
Unexpectedly, just as the frog hit the wall, a miracle happened! The frog had turned into a handsome prince!
3. The truth revealed
The prince smiled and said to the little princess, “Thank you for lifting the spell that the witch put on me. Without your help, I may never be able to return to my human form.”
It turned out that the prince had been cursed by an evil witch and turned into a frog. Only someone who truly wanted to accept him could lift the curse. Fortunately, although the little princess initially disliked him, she eventually fulfilled her promise under the guidance of the king, thus saving the prince.
After learning the truth, the king presided over the wedding for the two. From then on, the prince and the little princess lived happily together and were never separated again.
4. The moral of the story
Dear children, after listening to this story, do you still remember how the king taught the little princess? Yes, he told us that no matter how ordinary or even ugly someone looks, as long as they help us when we need it, we should not look down on them. More importantly, we should not judge a book by its cover, but focus on the kindness and qualities of a person’s heart.
So, remember: keeping one’s word is a virtue, and treating others kindly is a sign of wisdom. I hope every child can be inspired by this story and become an honest and trustworthy person who knows how to be grateful!
