The Frog Prince Re-Imagined

This is a reimagined version of the Frog Prince. In this version, the Princess learns about respect, gratitude, and humility; and also what may happen when you take others for granted. This Princess is not forced to be the Frog's companion, and the Frog treats her with much kindness. About 20 minutes of light music, nature sounds, and narrated story.

Transcript

Hello,

Dear ones.

Thank you for joining me.

I will tell you the story of the Frog Prince by the Brothers Grimm.

However,

You may notice that there are some changes to this version.

I have reimagined it a bit to update it,

And you'll notice that our princess in this story learns lessons about respect,

Gratitude,

And humility.

So let's just take a nice deep breath,

And we can begin our story.

Once upon a time,

There was a princess who lived in a vast and thriving kingdom.

She was lively and clever and had everything she wanted.

There were palace workers and guards who waited on her every wish,

And she rarely faced a hardship worse than a stubbed toe.

Her days went by with ease,

Filled with schooling,

Playing games,

And delicious feasts.

One of her favorite things to do when all her daily activities had been accomplished was venturing outside in the expansive and impeccably maintained gardens that spread out along the backyards of the castle.

In the center of this garden was a deep and wide pond.

It had blocks of marble wrapping around the outside to make a wall,

And in the center of the pond was an ornate fountain carved from a green and shimmering stone.

The princess would sit on the marble wall,

Listening to the gently splashing water,

And watch the fish,

Frogs,

Lilies,

And turtles.

Then she would take out a very special golden ball that she kept hidden deep within the pockets of her silken gowns.

This ball was made of solid gold,

So it was a bit heavy,

And it had unique and detailed swirling designs inlaid,

As well as precious gems of every kind.

It was truly the most beautiful,

Intricate,

Precious,

And prized possession that the princess ever had.

She even slept with it under her pillow at night,

And carried it with her every day in her pockets.

She loved the familiar weight of it tugging on her gowns.

It gave her comfort.

The princess had been told that this gold ball was created by her great-great-great-grandmother when she was queen,

When she was queen,

And had been passed down through generations,

And that it now belonged to her.

And so her favorite thing to do was sit in the lovely garden among the flowers,

Listen to the trickling water of the fountain,

And play with this beautiful ball.

She would toss it back and forth,

And she never tired of watching the way the sun would reflect through each gem and make lovely patterns of all colors.

One day,

As she was playing with her ball,

The sun caught her eye and blinded her momentarily.

And as she tossed the ball in the air,

Her hand missed its descent,

And she dropped the ball right into the pond.

She was shocked and horrified as the pond waters were dark and deep,

And she had no idea how she would get her ball back.

She called to the palace guards who looked at each other.

They had no idea how to get that deep in the water.

The princess began to cry deep,

Heaving sobs.

This ball was so special and could never be replaced.

As she wept and cried and wailed,

She noticed a little frog had hopped onto the lily pad closest to her and was staring at her very intently.

Even within her despair,

She was able to notice the intelligence and kindness that seemed to be within this little frog's eyes.

She was even more surprised when the frog spoke to her.

Dear princess,

I have seen you here many times playing happily,

But I have never seen you cry.

What is wrong?

Asked the frog.

The princess tried to control her voice,

And through heaving sobs and shaky words,

She managed to respond.

Oh,

Little frog,

I have lost my most prized possession in the whole world.

The golden ball that I have been playing with belonged to my great-great-great grandmother,

The queen,

And it can never be replaced,

And I love it so much.

And it can never be replaced,

And I love it so much,

But I have lost it deep in the waters.

I have no idea how to get it back.

The frog thought for just a moment and said,

Well,

Dear princess,

While retrieving the ball might be very difficult for you,

It may be far easier for me.

Would you like me to try to bring your ball back to you?

He asked.

A sudden jolt of desperate hope flooded the princess as she looked at the frog and said,

Oh,

Yes,

Frog,

Please.

Oh,

I would be ever so grateful to you if you could get my ball back.

I would do anything at all.

You can ask me for anything you want.

I'll give you whatever you could wish for.

Thank you so much,

Frog.

I'll do anything to get my ball back.

The frog replied,

All right,

Dear princess,

I may indeed ask you for help one day,

But for now I will help you,

And I will retrieve your ball.

The frog's head disappeared below the water,

And the princess leaned way over and tried to peer into the depths,

Anxious for the frog's return.

She waited for what seemed like an eternity,

And finally the frog did return to the surface.

In his little hands,

He held out the ball to her.

He started to tell her,

This ball is very heavy for me,

And I was barely able to bring it up.

It was a mighty struggle,

But the princess was so happy to have the ball back that she snatched it right out of his little hands,

And without even a thank you or looking back at him,

She skipped away,

Happily clutching the ball to her heart.

The little frog was left sitting alone on the lily pad as he watched her leave.

A few days later,

The princess was back in the garden and sitting by the pond.

She'd almost entirely forgotten about losing the ball.

She was very used to other people solving her problems for her.

So when she noticed out of the corner of her eye that the frog began to approach and croak out a question to her,

She jumped up and skipped away and went on with her day.

Once again,

The frog watched her sadly as she left him alone.

After another few days,

The princess was having dinner with her family.

The king and queen were there,

Her sisters were there,

And the whole royal court was enjoying a scrumptious,

Delicious feast.

As they were thoroughly enjoying the meal,

There was a loud croaking at the door.

Princess,

Princess,

Are you there?

Asked the frog from the other side of the large door.

The princess was embarrassed and looked around at everyone at the large table.

She leapt up and ran to the door,

Opened it,

And stepped out,

Closing it behind her.

Closing it behind her.

What is it,

Little frog?

She asked,

Surprised to find the frog anywhere else other than the pond.

Dear princess,

I am very sorry to bother you,

But I am so very hungry.

Might I have a bit of your food to fill my empty belly?

You could leave it outside for me so I won't embarrass you,

Said the frog.

The princess was exasperated.

Frog,

You do not eat people food,

You are a frog,

And I know the palace gardeners throw fish food into the pond.

I'm sure you can eat pond food.

Now,

Goodbye.

The princess turned around and shut the big door on the frog.

She returned to her feast and the frog slowly made his way back to the pond with his rumbling belly still empty.

As time went on,

The seasons began to change and the cold winds blew in from the north and the pond began to freeze over.

The princess had plenty of warm clothes and so the cold weather did not bother her at all,

And she loved to walk along the grounds no matter what season it was.

So it happened to be on another day that she found herself once again at the pond.

She had been avoiding it as of late as she did not want to encounter the frog again.

She assumed that because most of the pond was frozen over,

She would not see the frog at all,

And she felt it was safe to return.

However,

There was still one corner of the pond that was not yet frozen over.

To the princess's dismay,

The frog was still there.

He was shivering and he struggled to hop closer to her,

But he did and he asked her in a trembling voice,

Princess,

It is so very cold on this pond.

Could you please bring me to the castle and let me just sit by the fire where I may be able to warm myself,

Pleaded the frog.

The princess replied uncomfortably,

Oh,

Frog,

You do not need to come and live inside.

You are a frog.

All the other fish seem happy enough to freeze through the winter and thaw out again in the spring.

Can you do the same thing?

And with that,

The princess whisked away again,

Relieved to be away from the sad and intelligent eyes of the frog.

Another season went by and the princess again forgot about the frog.

It was summer again and the princess felt so joyful that she was hopping and skipping along the stone wall that surrounded the pond.

She became so involved in her dancing and spinning that her slipper became twisted and her feet fell out from under her until she found herself falling head first right into the pond.

She was suddenly terrified as she did not know how to swim.

She coughed and choked and the dirty water covered her eyes and nose.

She called out to the guards who did quickly rush to her,

Reached their arms down and pulled her up out of the water.

She collapsed on the grass,

Gasping and heaving,

Shaking and terrified.

She was very thankful that she did not drown and it took her some time to recompose herself.

Once she was able to control her breathing again,

She realized with horror that once again she had lost her precious ball in the pond.

It must have fallen out of her pocket as she thrashed around in the water.

She remembered the kind frog who had helped her before and so she called out to him again.

Dear frog,

Dear frog,

Can you please help me?

I have once again dropped my ball and it is so easy for you to go down and get it.

Will you please help me one more time?

Begged the princess.

The frog did appear another time.

He looked her deeply in the eyes and said,

Of course dear princess,

I will get your ball again.

And with that he dove down into the water to retrieve her ball.

And again the princess waited with anticipation and it seemed to take an eternity.

This time while she waited,

She thought back over the last year of the other times she had seen the frog.

She knew that the frog had asked for her help and how each time she had rejected him.

And yet here he was helping her again,

Despite her unkindness toward him.

She started to feel guilty for the way she had treated him and she wondered if he ever would actually return her ball.

She suspected that she did not deserve his help.

However,

The frog was true to his word and he did pop back up on the surface of the water and hand her the precious ball a second time.

The princess was so grateful and relieved that this time instead of just snatching the ball up,

She picked up the frog along with the ball and without thinking she was so grateful that she kissed him.

The moment that she kissed him right before her eyes and with a puff of purple smoke,

The frog turned into a real living human prince.

The princess couldn't believe what she was seeing.

What just happened?

She stammered.

The prince said,

I have been under the spell of an evil witch for many years.

The only way I could return to my human self was if a princess gave me a genuine kiss.

And so I thank you princess for breaking this spell and giving me my life back.

The princess was overjoyed that she got her ball back,

But when she also saw this impressive kind prince sitting in front of her,

She wanted him for a husband.

Oh,

How wonderful this is,

Prince.

We are now perfect for each other.

Let's go and tell my father that I have now finally found a suitable husband,

She said,

Overjoyed.

The prince looked at her sadly and replied,

Oh,

Dear princess,

While you can always count on me in your time of need and while I will always be your friend,

I'm afraid you did not do the same for me.

You treated me with disrespect and contempt when you thought all I was was a little frog.

You did not keep your word to me,

Even though I kept my word to you.

I am afraid I cannot trust you in my heart.

So I will find a partner in my life who is true in her kindness and her word and her heart.

I hold you no ill feelings and will always be grateful to you for breaking the spell,

But I am forced to decline your sweet offer.

The princess was shocked that the prince rejected her,

As just about every other man in the kingdom had tried to be her husband.

But she was also ashamed and heartbroken for what she had done.

She didn't like it,

But she had to admit that the words the prince spoke were true,

And there was nothing she could say in her own defense.

She had treated him badly,

Broke her promise,

And dismissed him in his time of need.

This time she watched him walk away while she sat on the edge of the pond alone.

In the years to come,

When the prince and princess would encounter each other,

They would smile fondly and greet each other as friends.

And the princess watched from afar as the prince found a pure and honest woman to build his life with,

And she saw they would be very happy together.

Her heart ached that she had missed out on this blissful life herself,

But she was very happy for the kind prince.

The princess learned her lesson that she should not take kindness,

Support,

Or anyone for granted.

And she learned that just because she had the great fortune to be a princess,

It did not make her better than anyone else,

And that even a lowly frog deserved her respect.

The end.

I hope you enjoyed this reimagining of the frog prince,

And I hope that you always feel respected and honored at every moment in your life.

And I hope that you feel grateful for all the wonderful kindness and support and loving people that you have in your life.

Sweet dreams and good night.

Reviews

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