1. It was spring time, and I and my dearest friend Toad were upon the lands to gather St. John’sss wart. *During our walk on the forrest road,* Toad said that he needed a rest. I smiled upon him and went a little ways off to see if there were any herbs close by. I had walked only a little distance when I looked back just in time to see a young man deliberately stomp on Toad. I raced back, passed the man who had done it, and picked up toad with teary eyes. 2.“I shall make him pay a hundred times over for what he has done,” I told him.
Having a little life left in him, Toad answered, “Have mercy on him.” He is yet young and all young are foolish.” With that, Toad breathed his last and died. I set my beloved friend in my basket and ran to catch up with the man who had killed Toad.
“Stop,” I shouted, “You have done a wicked deed.”
“Oh, and just what have I done, Witch? Prostrate yourself before me, the Prince,” he commanded.
“I do not care who you are. You have killed my companion, Toad. I would make you die the most painful death, if Toad had not asked me to have mercy on you because you are still but a youth. Therefore, I shall only turn you into a frog, that you may not bring disgrace upon the kind of toads.” *After I finished speaking these words,* I called upon the wind to engulf him. 3. The strong wind turned into a powerful whirlwind and it swallowed the prince. (When the wind ceased to blow and the whirlwind was no more,) there the prince stood. Now the prince had four webbed feet, was green, and had shrunk considerably.
“How dare your head be taller than mine,” the prince cried. “Stoop, Witch!”
“Even if I tried, I would have to be the size of an ant, Your Majesty,” I replied mockingly. Then the prince realized the truth; “I am a frog,” he cried. “I demand that you recant your spell, and turn me back to my normal self.”
“I cannot. Find someone to be your sweetheart and to love your arrogant heart, then the spell will be broken.” With this said, I turned and left for my lair to bury my dead companion.
I looked into my pot of stew and there before my eyes stood true; the prince enchanted. A year had passed and still the frog prince had not found himself a sweetheart. Then the prince remembered 4. the land of the goat herders which he had visited a few years before. The king of that land had three young daughters. “Surely out of three, one of them will be my sweetheart,” the frog prince told himself. (When the frog prince arrived at the palace,) he found that he was thirsty and dry. The frog prince looked around, saw a well in the garden, and hopped towards it. The water was clear and inviting as the frog prince jumped in, and he felt refreshed at once. Not far off, 5. sitting under a large apple tree eating apples, were the three beautiful princesses. The eldest one became thirsty and walked over to the well to draw herself a glass of water. (When she held the glass up to the sunlight,) she saw that it was muddy. This puzzled the princess and just as she was about to pour it back, the frog prince stuck his head out of the water and jumped onto the well’s side saying, “If you will be my sweetheart, I will give you clear water.”
“Yuck! Who would want to be the sweetheart of a frog?” The princess replied and ran to go tell her sisters about what had happened. The second princess was intrigued, and she as well, went to draw herself a glass. However, when she held it up to the sun, it too was muddy. The frog prince appeared to her as well and said, “If you will be my sweetheart, I will give you clear water.”
“Never,” she replied and ran away. Then the last princess went and drew herself a glass, but it was no better than the others. Then the frog prince asked her pitifully, “Will you be my sweetheart? I will die unchanged without you.”
“Sure. I’ll be your sweetheart if you give me clear water.” The frog jumped back into the water, and when the princess drew another glass, it was so clear that the sun delighted to dance in it. However, to herself she said, “What harm can there be in promising a frog to be his sweetheart? You can promise anything to a frog and it will not matter.” The princess drank as much as she wanted and took some to her sisters asking,
“Why were you so afraid of a stupid frog?”
The princess did not think anymore about it, and 6. when the stars began to glisten and shine in the heavens, the princess got ready for bed as usual. *Before she was fully asleep,* she heard a noise at her door and the frog prince say, “Open up, youngest of the king’s daughters, remember you promised to be my sweetheart if I would give you clear water?”
“Ugh, it is my frog sweetheart,” said the princess. “I did promise him and now I must stay true to my word.” The princess got up and opened the door a crack and went back to bed. The frog prince followed the princess, hopped on the bed, and slept soundly at her feet all night till morning. The next morning he hopped out of the bed and left.
The next night, the princess was almost asleep when she heard the frog prince at her door. She let him in and once again, he slept at her feet. When the frog prince asked to be let in the third night, the princess said in frustration, “This is the last time I am going to let you in.” The princess went to bed and the frog prince hopped on the bed, but this time he slept under her pillow. The next morning, the princess expected the frog prince to hop off the bed and leave for the day but instead, a handsome young prince stood before her. The prince told her about the circumstances leading to his transformation into a frog and how by promising to be his sweetheart, the princess had broken the spell. The two went to the king to get his blessing and then the two were married. When the two sisters heard the story about how the prince had been enchanted, they were angry that they had not taken the frog for their sweetheart.
This tale I watched in my pot of stew and I will tell the happy ending to you. The prince had learned to be kind and loving. I have made him and his country happy, though I still wish I could have made him die on a bed of embers.
1. Chronographia
2. Dialogismus
3. Anemographia
4. Chorographia
5. Dendographia
6. Astrothesia
(Introductory adverb clauses)
*Introductory prepositional phrases*
