The Enchanted Frog

"The Enchanted Frog,"

Germany, AD 1854,

Adapted from the story “Der Verwunshene Frosch” by Carl and Theodor Colshorn from the book Marchen und Sagen

Once upon a time there was a merchant who had three daughters, but his wife had passed away. He planned a journey across the ocean to a foreign land to bring back gold and other valuable things. His daughters cried when he was leaving, and he promised to bring back something beautiful for each of them. The oldest daughter asked for a silk dress with three different kinds of silks, the second wanted a feathered hat with three different kinds of feathers, but the youngest only asked her father to bring her a fresh rose with three colors. The merchant promised and went on his journey. He easily was able to order both the dress and the hat for two of his daughters, but even offering much money, no one could find a rose with three colors. He decided to head home, sad the entire way. When he arrived back to his land on the other side of the ocean, he came upon a large garden where there was nothing but roses. In the middle was a bush with a three-colored rose. He picked it for his daughter and immediately was frozen in place. Behind him, a voice cried out wanting to know what the merchant wanted with his garden. When the merchant turned, he saw a large frog with googly-eyes staring at him. He told the merchant that since he had broken his rose bush that he must give his youngest daughter to the frog to marry. The merchant was, of course, terrified and begged for his daughter not to become the wife of this frog, but in the end, he had to agree. Once he agreed to the frog’s terms, he was free to move his feet. The frog told him that he would arrive seven days later to retrieve his bride. The merchant was very sad and when he gave his daughter the rose, he told her the story of what had happened. When the seventh day arrived, the daughter hid under the bed, but the frogs’ servants came into the house and took her to the carriage. She was so frightened that she passed out. It wasn’t long until they arrived at a blooming rose garden with a pond behind a small house. They took the bride to a bedchamber and laid her on a soft bed. She finally woke when it was dark, and she heard the frog singing outside the window. When it became midnight, the door opened, and the frog jumped onto the bed. The daughter had warmed up to the frog’s song and invited him to sleep on the pillow by her head and gave him a small handkerchief to cover him up. The next morning, she opened her eyes to find a handsome prince lying next to her. The prince thanked her with his whole heart, they were married, and lived long and happily together.