Frog Girl

An old couple had no children and both of them were looking forward to having a child. So, one day the wife was pregnant and both were overjoyed. But to their great disappointment, the wife gave birth, not to a child, but a small female frog. However, this female frog speaks and moves like a human being, her parents and neighbors gradually love her very much, affectionately calling her the little frog girl.

A few years later, his wife died, and the man decided to remarry. He married a widow, who brought two ugly daughters. The two daughters were jealous of the frog girl when they saw how much she was loved by the people. The mother and the three daughters often abused the little frog girl. One day, the king's fourth son announced that he would hold a hair washing ceremony and invited all the young girls to attend because he wanted to choose one to be his consort after the ceremony.

That morning, the two ugly sisters put on their best clothes and went to the palace, hoping to be chosen by the prince. The little frog girl jumped after them and begged them, "Sister, let me go with you."

The two sisters burst out laughing and sarcastically said, "What, a little frog is going to? The invitation is for the girls, not the little frog!" The little frog girl walked with them to the palace and asked them to take her in. But the two sisters ignored her and left her outside the palace gate. She said a few good words to the guards, and they let her in. The little frog girl saw hundreds of young girls gathered around a pool full of lilies. She found a place among them and waited for the prince to arrive.

The prince came and washed his hair in the pool. The girls also scattered their hair in the pool. After the ceremony, the prince said the girls were so beautiful that he didn't know who to choose, so he had to throw a bunch of jasmine flowers into the air, and which girl's head the flowers fell on, which girl was his consort. The prince threw a bouquet into the air, and the girls looked up eagerly. But the bouquet fell on the head of the little frog girl. The girls were very annoyed, especially his two sisters. The prince was also disappointed, but he felt that he should keep his word. So the little frog girl and the prince got married and became the princess.

After some time, the old king called all his four sons and said, "My sons, I am now too old to manage the affairs of the state. I am going to retire to the forest to be a hermit. Therefore, I must appoint one of you to succeed the throne, and now I give you a task, whoever does the best job, will replace me as king. This task is: to find me a golden deer at sunrise in seven days."

The young prince went home and told the young frog princess about it. "What, just a golden deer?" The young frog princess called up, "Eat, as usual, my prince, and on the appointed day, I will give you a golden deer." In this way, the young prince stayed at home, while the three brothers went into the woods to look for a deer. By sunrise on the morning of the seventh day, the young frog princess woke up her husband and said, "Go to the palace, prince, here is your golden deer." The young prince rubbed his eyes, and then look carefully, there is no mistake, the little frog princess holding a solid gold deer. The prince went to the palace and the king announced him as the heir. The three brothers were very angry because they brought all the ordinary deer. They asked the king to give them another chance, and the old king reluctantly agreed. "In seven days, at sunrise, you will bring me rice that is never bad and meat that is always fresh."

The young prince went home and told the young frog princess about it again. "Don't worry, dear prince," said the princess, "eat and sleep as usual, and on the appointed day, I will give you rice and meat." At sunrise on the seventh day, the little frog princess woke up her husband and said, "Prince, go to the palace, which is a custom in Burma. Here is the rice and meat you asked for." The young prince took them to the palace, but his brothers brought only cooked rice and meat, so the king again declared him the heir. The brothers were furious and once again asked the king to give them another chance. The king said, "This is the last chance to bring the most beautiful girl in the world at sunrise in seven days."

"Ha ha," said the three brothers, overjoyed, to each other: "Our wives are all beautiful, bring them, and one of us will surely be chosen as the heir, and as for our little brother, he will fall short this time." The young prince heard their words and was saddened because his wife was an ugly frog. When he got home, he said to his wife, "Dear Princess, I must go out and find the most beautiful woman in the world. My three brothers are going to take their wives with them because they are all beautiful, so I have to go out and find a more beautiful woman."

"Don't be troubled, my prince," replied the little frog princess, "eat and sleep as usual, and on that day, when you bring me to the palace, I will be treated as the most beautiful woman of all."

The young prince looked at the princess in amazement, but he did not want to break her heart, he said gently: "Okay! Princess, on that day I will take you there."

At dawn on the seventh day, the little frog princess woke up the prince and said, "Prince, I must dress up. Please go outside and wait for me, and call me then!" The prince listened to her and left the room. After a while, the prince called from outside: "Your Highness, we should go now." "Please wait, prince," replied the princess, "I'm powdering my face!"

After a while, the prince called her again: "Your Highness, we really should go."

"All right, my prince," replied the princess, "please open the door for me!"

The prince thought, "She can get the golden deer and such good rice and meat, and perhaps become beautiful too." He opened the door with hope, but he was disappointed that the little frog princess he saw was still a very ugly frog. The prince did not want to break her heart, said nothing, and took her to the palace. When the prince took the little frog princess into the hall, his three brothers and their wives were already there. The king looked at the young prince in amazement and said, "Where is your beautiful woman?"

"Your Majesty, let me answer for the prince," said the little frog princess, "I am the beautiful woman." She took off her frog skin, so a beautiful woman in silk appeared. The king declared her to be the most beautiful woman in the world and thus chose the young prince to succeed to the throne. The prince asked the princess not to wear the ugly frog coat again. The little frog princess agreed to his request and threw the coat into the fire and burned it.