Prevod

In the old days, 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 had seen so much, marvelled whenever it shone upon her face. Near the king’s castle lay a great dark forest, and in the forest, beneath an old lime tree, there was a well. Whenever the day was very hot, the king’s daughter would go out into the forest and sit beside the cool well; and when she was bored, she would take a golden ball, toss it into the air, and catch it again. This was her favourite plaything.

Now it happened one day that the princess’s golden ball did not fall into the little hand she held up to catch it, but struck the ground beside her and rolled straight into the water. The princess followed it with her eyes, but the ball vanished, and the well was deep, so deep that no one could see the bottom. Then she began to cry, and cried louder and louder, and could not be comforted. As she lamented, someone called to her, “What is the matter, princess? You are crying enough to move a stone to pity.” She looked around to see where the voice came from and caught sight of a frog poking its fat, ugly head out of the water. “Oh, it’s you, you old water-splasher,” she said. “I’m crying over my golden ball, which has fallen into the well.” “Hush now, and stop crying,” answered the frog. “I can help you, but what will you give me if I fetch your plaything back?” “Whatever you like, dear frog,” she said. “My clothes, my pearls and jewels, even the golden crown I wear.” The frog replied, “I have no use for your clothes, your pearls and jewels, or your golden crown. But if you will love me and let me be your companion and playmate, sit beside you at your little table, eat from your little golden plate, drink from your little cup, and sleep in your little bed—if you promise me all this, I will go down and fetch your golden ball.” “Oh yes,” she said, “I promise you anything you like, if only you will bring me back my ball.” But she thought, What nonsense that silly frog talks! He sits in the water with his own kind and croaks, and cannot be a companion to any human being.

Once the frog had her promise, he ducked his head beneath the water and sank out of sight. After a little while he came paddling up again with the ball in his mouth and tossed it onto the grass. The princess was overjoyed to see her lovely plaything again, picked it up, and ran off with it. “Wait, wait!” cried the frog. “Take me with you! I cannot run as you can!” But what good did it do him to croak after her as loudly as he could? She paid no heed, hurried home, and soon forgot the poor frog, who had to go back down into his well.

The next day, when she had sat down to dinner with the king and all his courtiers and was eating from her little golden plate, something came crawling up the marble staircase, splish-splash, splish-splash. When it reached the top, it knocked at the door and called, “Princess, youngest princess, let me in!” She ran to see who was outside, but when she opened the door, there sat the frog. She hastily slammed it shut, sat down at the table again, and felt quite frightened. The king could see that her heart was pounding and said, “My child, what are you afraid of? Is there a giant at the door who has come to carry you away?” “Oh no,” she answered, “it is not a giant, but a horrid frog.” “What does the frog want with you?” “Oh, dear father, yesterday, when I was sitting by the well in the forest and playing, my golden ball fell into the water. And because I cried so much, the frog fetched it back; and because he insisted, I promised he could be my companion. But I never dreamed he could leave his water. Now he is outside and wants to come in to me.” Just then there came a second knock and a voice called:

“Princess, youngest princess, let me in! Have you forgotten what you said to me yesterday beside the cool well water? Princess, youngest princess, let me in!”

Then the king said, “What you have promised, you must keep. Go and let him in.” She went and opened the door, and the frog hopped inside, following close at her heels all the way to her chair. There he sat and called, “Lift me up beside you.” She hesitated until at last the king ordered her to do it. Once the frog was on the chair, he wanted to be on the table, and when he was sitting there, he said, “Now push your little golden plate closer, so that we can eat together.” She did so, though it was plain she was unwilling. The frog enjoyed his meal, but almost every mouthful stuck in her throat. At last he said, “I have eaten my fill and am tired. Now carry me to your little room and make up your silken bed, and we will lie down to sleep.” The princess began to cry, for she was afraid of the cold frog, whom she dared not touch and who was now to sleep in her lovely, clean bed. But the king grew angry and said, “You must not despise someone who helped you in your hour of need.” So she picked him up with two fingers, carried him upstairs, and set him in a corner. But when she was in bed, he came crawling over and said, “I am tired and want to sleep as much as you do. Lift me up, or I shall tell your father.” At this she flew into a rage, picked him up, and flung him against the wall with all her might. “Now you will be quiet, you horrid frog!”

But when he fell to the floor, he was no longer a frog, but a prince with beautiful, kindly eyes. And now, in accordance with her father’s wishes, he became her dear companion and husband. He told her that a wicked witch had put him under a spell, and that no one but she could have freed him from the well. The next day, he said, they would go together to his kingdom. Then they fell asleep, and the next morning, when the sun woke them, a carriage drove up, drawn by eight white horses with white ostrich feathers on their heads and golden chains for harness. Standing at the back was the young king’s servant, faithful Heinrich. Faithful Heinrich had been so grieved when his master was turned into a frog that he had three iron bands fitted around his heart to keep it from bursting with sorrow and pain. The carriage had come to take the young king back to his kingdom. Faithful Heinrich helped them both inside, took his place at the back again, and was filled with joy at his master’s deliverance.

When they had travelled a little way, the prince heard a crack behind him, as though something had broken. He turned and called:

“Heinrich, the carriage is breaking!” “No, my lord, the carriage is sound; it is a band from my heart that lay in bitter pain when you sat in the well, when you were a frog.”

Twice more there came a crack along the way, and each time the prince thought the carriage was breaking. But it was only the bands springing from faithful Heinrich’s heart, because his master was freed from the spell and happy.