Section 1
One pleasant evening, a young princess put on her bonnet and clogs and decided to take a solitary walk in the woods. As she came across a refreshing spring that rose in the center of the forest, she sat down to rest for a while. The princess had a golden ball in her hand, which was her most cherished toy. She always threw it up in the air and caught it again as it fell. After a while, she threw the ball up so high that she missed catching it as it fell. The ball bounced and rolled along the ground until it finally dropped into the spring. The princess peered into the spring, but it was too deep for her to see the bottom. She began to lament her loss and said, "Oh dear! If only I could retrieve my ball, I would be willing to give up all my splendid clothes, jewelry, and everything that I possess in this world."
The frog asked the princess, "Why are you crying so much?" She replied, "My golden ball has fallen into the spring and what can you do for me, you nasty frog?" The frog answered, "I don't want your pearls, jewels, and fine clothes. If you promise to love me and let me eat from your golden plate and sleep on your bed, I will bring back your ball." The princess thought the frog's request was silly and said, "You can't even get out of the spring to visit me, but if you can get my ball, then you can have what you're asking for." The princess agreed to the frog's proposal, saying, "I will do all you ask if you bring me my ball." The frog then dived into the water and after a while, he resurfaced with the ball in his mouth and placed it on the edge of the spring. The princess was delighted to see her ball and ran to pick it up, forgetting about the frog. As she ran away, the frog called after her, "Stay, princess, and take me with you as you said." But she didn't stop to listen and ran home as fast as she could.
The following day, during the princess's lunchtime, she heard a peculiar sound of tap, tap-plash, plash, as if something was climbing the marble stairs. Shortly after, there was a soft knock at the door and a little voice cried out:
"Open the door, my dear princess,
Open the door to your true love here!
Remember the words that you and I said
By the cool fountain, in the shade of the greenwood."
The princess ran to the door, opened it, and saw the frog whom she had forgotten. At the sight of the frog, she was frightened and shut the door quickly before returning to her seat. The king noticed her fear and asked her what was wrong. She replied, "There's a nasty frog at the door, the one that retrieved my ball from the spring this morning. I promised him he could live with me, thinking he could never leave the spring. Now he's at the door, wanting to come in."
Whilst she was speaking, the frog knocked on the door again and said:
"Open the door, my dear princess,
Open the door to your true love here!
Remember the words that you and I said
By the cool fountain, in the shade of the greenwood."
