The Frog Bride

Once upon a time, there lived a king. He had three sons. The time came for them to marry. The king said:

"Let your arrows fly, my sons, and wherever they land, take your wives from there."

And so they did.

The eldest son shot his arrow, and it landed in the courtyard of another king. The eldest son married that king's daughter.

The middle son shot his arrow, and it landed in the courtyard of the king's advisor. The middle son married the advisor's daughter.

The youngest son shot his arrow, and it landed in a swamp. The youngest son went to retrieve it, struggled to find it, and finally pulled it out of the swamp. But as he did, a frog leaped out after the arrow.

The prince was furious. He threw the frog aside, but it kept coming back. He chased it away and scolded it, but it wouldn't leave him alone. No matter how angry the prince became, the frog followed him all the way to the palace.

The king, not wanting to go back on his word, married his son to the frog. The elder brothers' wives laughed and mocked their brother-in-law, delighting in his humiliation. The prince remained silent, enduring it all—what else could he do?

The brothers went their separate ways, and the youngest son was left alone with his frog. He hired a woman to help around the house, thinking, "What kind of housekeeper is a frog?"

But as soon as the prince and the hired woman left the house, the frog would shed its frog skin and transform into a beautiful woman. She was so radiant that her beauty lit up the entire house. She would clean, tidy up, prepare meals, and then slip back into her frog skin before anyone returned.

A year passed. The prince called the hired woman and said:

"Let's settle up. How much do I owe you for the year? I want to pay you for your work."

But the woman replied:

"You owe me nothing. I did nothing all year; I've been idle."

"Then who did all the work? Who kept my house in order?"

"How should I know?"

The young man decided to spy and find out who was working in his house. He hid himself.

The frog, thinking he had left, shed her frog skin and became the beautiful woman again. She tidied up, kneaded dough, baked bread, and began to stoke the fire.

At that moment, the prince emerged from his hiding place, grabbed the frog skin, and threw it into the fire.

"Don't burn it!" she cried. "You'll regret it!"

But it was too late. The prince and his wife began to live happily together. Word of her beauty spread far and wide. The elder brothers' wives heard of it and seethed with jealousy, ready to burst with envy.

Soon, the king invited his sons and their wives to visit him.

The frog-wife sent a messenger to the elder wives:

"I ran out of fabric for my dress. Could you spare a piece?"

They replied:

"We're sewing our own dresses from fabric. We don't have any to spare."

Believing the frog-wife, they sewed dresses from paper to wear to the king's feast.

The frog-wife sent another messenger:

"Could you lend me a horse, a donkey, or even a dog to ride to the king's feast?"

"We need our horse, donkey, and dog ourselves."

The elder wives dressed in their paper dresses, mounted their horse and donkey, loaded their belongings onto the dog, and set off to their father-in-law's.

Meanwhile, the frog-wife told her husband:

"Go to my homeland and say, 'I ask for a red horse, a blue horse, and a white horse to be sent.'"

The prince did as she asked. The beautiful woman mounted the red horse, placed her husband on the blue horse, and loaded their belongings onto the white horse. They set off to the king's feast.

Halfway there, the frog-wife summoned a downpour. The elder wives, in their paper dresses, were soaked to the bone. They barely made it to the feast, and when they tried to enter and sit at the table, their dresses sagged and tore.

Humiliated and furious, the elder wives returned home, while the frog-wife and her husband stayed to feast with the king.

The king was enchanted by his daughter-in-law's beauty. He said to his son:

"Give me your wife."

The son refused. The king grew angry and said:

"If you can plow and sow that entire field in one day, so be it. If not, I will take your wife."

The son was heartbroken. That field couldn't be plowed in a hundred days, even with six pairs of oxen. How could he do it alone in one day? He went to his wife.

"Why are you so sad?" she asked.

He told her everything.

"I told you not to burn the skin—you'd regret it! But there's no helping it now. Go to my homeland and say, 'I ask for a magical plow to be sent.' Take some grain with you. The plow will plow and sow the field by itself."

The prince did as she said. But then the king demanded that he dig up and return all the grain that had been sown. "If you don't, I will take your wife," the king said. The prince returned to his wife, distraught.

"Why are you so sad, my dear?" she asked.

He told her everything. She said:

"Go to my homeland and say, 'I ask for a black magical spool to be sent.' Throw it into the sown field, and it will turn into ants. They will gather the grain for you."

And so it happened. The ants gathered all the grain and brought it to the king. The king counted it and said:

"One grain is missing."

"Here it comes," said the prince.

They looked and saw an ant running, shouting:

"I'm bringing it! I'm bringing it!"

The king then said:

"By dawn, surround the entire castle with a stone wall. If you don't, I will take your wife."

The prince returned to his wife, sad once more. He told her everything.

She said:

"Go to my homeland and ask for a magical mirror to be sent. When you get it, point it at the castle, and a wall will appear around it."

The prince did as she said. By morning, the wall was complete. The prince walked back and forth along it, overjoyed.

The king said:

"If you can bring me the ring from your mother's little finger—the one she took to the afterlife—then so be it. If not, I will take your wife."

The prince returned home, heartbroken. His wife asked:

"What's wrong, my love?"

"My father demanded I bring him the ring from my mother's little finger in the afterlife. If I don't, he will take you."

"Go to my homeland," she said, "and ask for a large scarf to be sent. Throw it over a tree, and you will reach the afterlife."

The prince did as she said. He was given the scarf, threw it over a tall tree, and found himself in the afterlife. He saw a woman leaning over a cauldron, sparks flying.

The prince asked:

"Why are you leaning over that cauldron?"

"Move along. When you return, I'll tell you. Many go there, but none return."

The prince continued on. He saw another woman pressing her chest against the hot sides of a cauldron.

"What are you doing, mother?" he asked.

"Move along. When you return, I'll tell you. Many go there, but none return."

The prince went further and saw a man and woman trying to lie down on a cowhide but failing to fit.

"Why can't you lie down on such a large hide?" he asked.

"Move along. When you return, we'll tell you. Many go there, but none return."

The prince went on and saw a man and woman lying comfortably on an ax handle.

"How did you fit on such a small ax handle?" he asked.

"Move along. When you return, we'll tell you. Many go there, but none return."

The prince continued and saw a plowman lying on the ground while nine pairs of oxen licked and nudged him.

"Man, get up," said the prince. "Why are you letting these animals torment you?"

"Move along. When you return, I'll tell you. Many go there, but none return."

Finally, the prince reached his mother.

"My son, what misfortune has brought you here?"

"My father forced me to come. If I don't bring him the ring from your little finger, he will take my wife."

"Here, take it," said his mother. "And tell him this: 'I took nothing from your wealth except this one little ring. If you weep over it, then take it—and the fire with it. Burn in it.'"

The prince took the ring and returned. As he passed the plowman, the man said:

"I was the chief plowman, but I was unjust. When it was time to plow my field, I harnessed the oxen before dawn and didn't release them until night. But for others, I harnessed them at noon and released them by lunch. That's why I suffer."

The prince passed the couple on the ax handle, and they said:

"We lived in harmony there, and we live in harmony here."

He passed the couple on the cowhide, and they said:

"We couldn't get along there, and we suffer here too."

He passed the woman leaning over the cauldron, and she said:

"When I baked bread, I gave no one even a crumb. That's why I suffer."

He passed the other woman by the cauldron, and she said:

"I didn't love my husband; I loved others. That's why I suffer."

The prince threw the scarf again, and the afterlife disappeared.

He returned to the king and said:

"My mother told me to say this: 'I took nothing from your wealth except this one little ring. So take it—and the fire with it. Burn in it.'"

As soon as he spoke, flames erupted, and the evil king burned to ashes.

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The Frog Bride

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