The Spring at the Edge of the World
In the good old days—and indeed, it was a good time, though it was neither my time nor your time, nor anyone's time—there lived a girl. Her mother had died, and her father had married another woman. The stepmother hated the girl because she was more beautiful than herself. She treated her harshly, made her do all the dirty work around the house, and never gave her a moment's peace. Finally, she decided to get rid of her altogether. She handed the girl a sieve and said:"Go, fetch water from the spring at the edge of the world in this sieve. Bring it back full, or you'll regret it!"
The stepmother thought there was no way the girl could find the spring at the edge of the world, and even if she did, how could she carry water in a sieve?
And so the girl set off on her journey, asking everyone she met where the spring at the edge of the world was. But no one knew, and she kept wondering what to do.
Finally, a strange old woman, bent over in three places, showed her the way to the edge of the world and explained how to get there.
The girl listened to the old woman and finally reached the spring at the edge of the world. But as soon as she scooped up the icy-cold water with the sieve, all the water drained out. She tried again and again, but each time the water spilled out. Finally, the poor girl sat down on the ground and burst into tears.
Suddenly, she heard a croak. She looked up and saw a large frog. The frog stared at her with bulging eyes and asked:
"What's wrong, dear?"
"Oh, I'm so miserable!" said the girl. "My stepmother sent me all this way and told me to fetch water from the spring at the edge of the world in a sieve, but I can't do it."
"Here's what you do," said the frog. "Promise to obey all my commands for an entire night—from evening until morning—and I'll teach you how to carry water in a sieve."
The girl agreed, and the frog said:
"Line it with clay, stuff it with moss,
And you'll bring water home across."
Then—plop!—it hopped away and dove straight into the spring at the edge of the world.
The girl gathered moss, lined the bottom of the sieve with it, coated the sieve with clay, and dipped it into the spring at the edge of the world. This time, the water didn't spill out, and the girl was about to head home when the frog poked its head out of the spring and croaked:
"Remember your promise!"
"Alright," replied the girl.
But she thought to herself, "What harm could a frog possibly do to me?"
When she returned home with the sieve full of water from the spring at the edge of the world, her stepmother nearly burst with anger but said nothing.
That evening, the girl heard a soft knock at the door near the floor—tap-tap-tap—and a voice:
"Open the door, my dear,
Open the door, my sweet!
Remember, my friend, what we agreed,
At the spring at the edge of the world!"
"What is this?!" cried the stepmother, and the girl had to tell her everything that had happened and about the promise she had made to the frog.
"Girls must keep their promises!" said the stepmother. "Go open the door right now!"
She was delighted that her stepdaughter would have to obey some nasty frog.
The girl got up, opened the door, and saw the frog from the spring at the edge of the world. Hop-hop, jump-jump—and the frog leaped up to the girl and croaked:
"Take me on your lap, my dear,
Take me, my sweet!
Remember, my friend, what we agreed,
At the spring at the edge of the world!"
The girl didn't want to put the frog on her lap, but the stepmother ordered:
"Take her right now, you insolent girl! Girls must keep their promises!"
Reluctantly, the girl placed the frog on her lap. The frog sat there for a while and then asked:
"Feed me, my dear,
Feed me, my sweet!
Remember, my friend, what we agreed,
At the spring at the edge of the world!"
The girl gladly fulfilled this request—she brought bread, a jug of milk, and fed the frog until it was full. After eating, the frog said:
"Lie down with me, my dear,
Lie down with me, my sweet!
Remember, my friend, what you said,
When you were so tired by the spring!"
Now the girl was outraged. But the stepmother said angrily:
"A promise is a promise! Girls must keep their word! Do as you're told, or get out of here with your frog!"
So the girl took the frog to bed with her but placed it as far away from herself as possible. When dawn broke, the frog said to her:
"Chop off my head, my dear,
Chop it off, my sweet!
Remember, my friend, what you promised,
There on the lawn by the spring!"
At first, the girl refused—after all, she remembered how the frog had helped her at the spring at the edge of the world. But the frog repeated its request. So the girl fetched an axe and chopped off its head. And suddenly—oh, wonder!—a handsome young prince stood before her. He told her how an evil sorcerer had cursed him and added:
"Only a girl who agreed to obey all my commands for an entire night—from evening until morning—and then chopped off my head in the morning could break the spell."
Well, the stepmother was shocked to see a handsome prince instead of a nasty frog! And believe me, she wasn't pleased when the prince announced that he wanted to marry her stepdaughter for freeing him from the curse. But they were married anyway and settled in a castle. And the stepmother had to console herself with the thought that, if not for her, her stepdaughter would never have married a prince.
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