[This is a tale from Hesse, acquired by the Grimms in 1812 and stylistically heavily revised by Wilhelm. About the Grimm Collection.]
In days of old when wishing still did some good, there lived a king whose daughters were all beautiful; but the youngest was so beautiful that the sun itself, which has, to be sure, seen so many things, was astonished every time it shone in her face. Near the royal manor was a big dark forest, and in that forest under an old linden was a well. Now whenever the day was quite hot, the king’s daughter used to go out into the forest and sit down by the cool well. If time hung too heavy on her hands, she would take a golden ball, toss it up in the air, and catch it again; and this was her favorite pastime.
Now it once happened that the golden ball of the king’s daughter did not drop into the little hand which she held up but fell to the ground and rolled straight into the water. She followed it with her eyes; but the ball disappeared, and the well was deep, so deep that one couldn’t see the bottom. Then she began to weep and wept louder and louder and was unconsolable. And as she was thus lamenting, someone called out to her: “What is the matter, king’s daughter? You’re crying hard enough to move a stone to pity.” She looked about in the direction of the voice and then saw a frog sticking its big ugly head out of the water. “Oh, it’s you, old water-splasher,” she said. “I’m weeping over my golden ball which fell into the well.”
“Be quiet and don’t weep,” answered the frog. “I can certainly help you. But what will you give me if I fetch your plaything up again?” “Anything you wish, dear frog,” she said, “my clothes, my pearls and jewels, and even the golden crown I’m wearing.” The frog answered, “I don’t want your clothes, your pearls and jewels, and your golden crown; but if you’ll love me and let me be your companion and playmate, sit beside you at your table, eat from your golden plate, drink out of your cup, and sleep in your bed—if you’ll promise me that, I’ll go down and bring up your golden ball.” “Oh, yes,” she said, “I’Il promise you everything you want, if you’ll only bring back the golden ball.” She thought to herself, however, “How foolishly the silly frog’s talking; it sits in the water with its kind and croaks and can’t be anybody’s companion.”
On receiving her promise the frog dived in headfirst and in a short time came paddling up again; it had the ball in its mouth and threw it on the grass. The king’s daughter was very glad to see her pretty plaything again, picked it up, and ran off with it. “Wait, wait!” cried the frog, “take me with you; I can’t run like you.” But what good did it do to croak after her, no matter how loud! She didn’t listen but hurried home and soon forgot the poor frog, who had to crawl down again into its well.
The next day when she sat down to dinner with the king and all his court and was eating from her golden plate, suddenly, plump, plump, something came crawling up the marble stairs, and when it reached the top, there was a knock at the door and a voice cried, “King’s daughter, youngest daughter! Open the door for me.” She ran to see who might be outside, and when she opened the door, there was the frog. Then she hurriedly shut the door, sat down again at the table, and was quite frightened. The king saw clearly that her heart was beating furiously and said, “My child, what are you frightened of? There isn’t by chance a giant at the door who wants to take you away?” “Oh, no,” she answered, “it isn’t a giant; it’s a nasty frog.” “What does the frog want of you?” “Oh, father dear, yesterday as I was sitting in the forest near the well and was playing, my golden ball fell into the water, and because I wept so hard, the frog fetched it up again. And because it insisted, I promised that it should be my companion, though I never thought it could get out of the water. Now it’s outside and wants to come in here to me.” Meanwhile there was a second knock, and a voice cried:
“King’s daughter, youngest daughter,
Let me in.
Don’t you know what yesterday
You told me
By the cool water of the well?
King’s daughter, youngest daughter,
Let me in.”
Then the king said: “You must keep your promise. Go now and let it in.” She went and opened the door; then the frog hopped in right behind her to her chair. There he sat and cried, “Lift me up.” She hesitated, till finally the king commanded her to do so. Once the frog was on the chair, it wanted to get onto the table, and when it was sitting there, it said: “Now push your golden plate nearer me so that we may eat together.” She even did this, but it was clear she didn’t like doing it. The frog enjoyed its meal, but nearly every morsel stuck in her throat. Finally it said, “Now I have eaten my fill and am tired, so carry me to your room and make ready your silken bed; then we’ll lie down to sleep.” The king’s daughter began to weep and was afraid of the cold frog, which she didn’t dare touch and which was now to sleep in her pretty, clean bed. But the king grew angry and said, “You mustn’t despise anyone after he has helped you when you were in trouble.”
Then she took it between her two fingers, carried it up, and put it in a corner; but when she was in her bed, it crawled up and said, “I’m tired and want to sleep as well as you; pick me up or I’ll tell your father.” Then she got very angry, picked it up, and threw it with all her might against the wall: “Now you can take a rest, you nasty frog!”
But when it fell it wasn’t a frog but a king’s son, with handsome kindly eyes. Now, as her father wished, he became her dear companion and husband. Then he told her how a wicked witch had laid a spell upon him and how no one could have disenchanted him out of the well except herself, and the next day they’d go together to his kingdom. Then they fell asleep, and the following morning when the sun woke them up, a coach came with a team of eight white horses with white ostrich plumes on their heads and harnessed with golden chains, and behind stood the young king’s servant. That was Faithful Henry. Faithful Henry had been so distressed when his lord was transformed into a frog that he’d had three iron bands put around his heart lest it should break from sorrow and sadness. The coach, on the other hand, was to take the young king to his kingdom. Faithful Henry helped them both into the coach, once again took up his place behind, and was very happy about the disenchantment. When they had gone some distance, the king’s son heard a cracking noise behind him as if something had broken. He turned around and said:
“Henry, the coach is breaking.”
“No, my lord, not the coach;
It’s a band from my heart
Which suffered sorely
While you were sitting in the well,
While you were a frog.”
Again and again on the way there was a cracking noise, and every time the king’s son thought that the coach was breaking; but it was only the bands snapping from Faithful Henry’s heart because his lord was now disenchanted and happy.
