The Frog Prince

Here's another little story for you.x

The Frog Prince

by Justine Pateman

Once there lived a frog Prince. He was a handsome prince who always dressed finely. He spent his days sitting proudly on a lily pad above his watery realm. But he never looked down. His eyes were always staring at the sky hoping for a glimpse of his beloved Damsel.

Damsel was a beautiful fairy. Her eyes were vivid blue and her sapphire wings sparkled in the sunshine as she flitted above the pond.

The Frog Prince loved her more than anything.

But she didn’t love him.

She didn’t even notice him. She was too busy parading her beauty in the hope of catching the eye of the Dragonfly King.

Day after day the Frog Prince mooned over Damsel. And day after day Damsel danced before the Dragonfly King.

One day when the sun became too hot and Damsel felt tired, she flitted down and landed on a lily pad for a rest.

“Now is my chance,” thought the Frog Prince as he watched Damsel flutter her wings prettily. He leapt over to the same lily pad. Damsel turned to him and smiled (she always smiled as it showed off her pretty dimples).

The Frog Prince cleared his throat with a croak and declared his love for her.

Damsel laughed. It has to be admitted that it was a very pretty laugh. “How can I love you she asked amazed. You are a frog and live in the cold water. I am a fairy and I fly high in the sky. We could never be together.” And with that she flew up into the blue sky leaving the Frog Prince on the lily pad with her laughter ringing in his ears.

“I’ll show her,” he thought and he leapt as high as he could. His long legs sent him bounding higher than he had ever been before, but it was not high enough. He fell tumbling down to the pond and landed with a huge splash.

It sent ducks quacking with laughter. But Damsel didn’t even notice. She was too busy dancing for the Dragonfly King. The Frog Prince was humiliated. He swam to a little hole on the edge of the pond and hid himself in shame.

On the other side of the pond there lived a pretty little frog lady. Day after day she used to see the Frog Prince on his lily pad as he watched Damsel and she could see that he was wasting his time and she felt sad as she loved the Frog Prince and wanted him to be happy. She saw the Frog Prince make his huge leap and she saw him fall. Hearing the ducks laugh at him made her so sad.

She waited until he was asleep and then swam over to his hole and left a tasty meal outside. The Frog Prince was surprised when he woke up and saw the meal but he ate it anyway. He stayed in his hole as he was afraid of being laughed at again.

The next day he awoke to find a tasty dish laid outside his hole again. This happened the next day and the next. Eventually the Frog Prince determined to find out who was leaving food for him. So he stayed awake in his hole all night and just around midnight he saw the frog lady swim quietly across the pond and leave the dish in front of his hole. He was amazed at her kindness. He had always ignored her as he was too busy watching Damsel, but yet here she was helping him.

Over the next few days, the Frog Prince secretly watched the little frog lady as she quietly left delicious plates of food for him. He thought a lot about her and her kindness. And as he watched her he realised how pretty she was. She wasn’t dazzling and brilliant like Damsel, but she was gentle and kind and that showed in her face and made her beautiful. The Frog Prince realised that he was falling in love the little frog lady.

He forgot about Damsel. He forgot about his humiliation. He left his hole and boldly swam across to the frog lady’s home.

“You have won my heart with your kindness and gentleness,” he told her. He asked her to marry him.

“What about Damsel?” she asked.

“Damsel isn’t the one for me” he replied. “You are.”

The Frog Prince married the pretty little frog lady the next day and they lived happily ever after.

The day after, Damsel finally married the Dragonfly King and they lived happily ever after too.

 

The Tale of the Ice Maiden

I've been enjoying writing little fairy stories to go with my pictures lately. Here's one I did for the birthday of a very lovely customer.x

The Tale of the Ice Maiden

By Justine Pateman

 

Once there lived a beautiful maiden. She had sun-kissed skin, hair the colour of ripened corn and eyes as blue as the sky. Every day she would take her father’s goats up to pasture in the high meadows on the mountains. While the goats grazed the tasty grass she would sit among the flowers and sing. Her lovely voice would carry high up in the clear mountain air. One day, in early spring, when the snows were still low upon the mountain and touching the meadows, the girl came with her goats and as she sat she sang. The Snow King, who was patrolling the edges of his empire heard her melody. He followed the sound until he saw her. He fell instantly in love with her. He desperately wanted to meet her but he couldn’t go near her as she sat in the sunshine and it was too warm for him – he would melt! And she would never come near him as it was too cold. So the Snow King had to content himself with watching her from the cool shadows.

The snows stayed low on the mountain all summer as the Snow King continued to watch the maiden and listen to her beautiful singing. And so the summer wore on and day after day the beautiful maiden climbed to the high pastures with her goats and sang, and each day the Snow King fell more deeply in love. But she never knew as she never saw him. The summer ended and with autumn came cooler, shorter days. The snows crept further into the meadows but still the girl went with her goats.

One day disaster struck. One of the goats slipped while climbing on the rocks and got stuck. The girl couldn’t leave one of her father’s flock behind so she climbed down the steep rock face to rescue it. It was icy and dangerous. The Snow King tried to warn her but all she heard was the howling of the wind. He tried to melt the ice but his breath was too cold. The girl’s fingers were numb with cold. The rocks were too slippery with ice. She had nearly reached the goat. Suddenly, the goat made a giant leap and made it to safety. But his clattering hooves sent the slippery rocks sliding down, deep down into the chasm. The girl’s fingers slipped and she fell down into the depths.

The Snow King desperately tried to cushion her fall with a drift of snow. She had fallen so far and the snow wasn’t deep enough. The beautiful maiden was dying and her lovely voice would be silenced forever. With tears in his eyes the Snow king leaned over his love. Her eyes flickered open and for the first time the girl saw him. She saw a handsome man dressed in glittering icy robes. She saw his deep blue eyes full of love for her and she wasn’t afraid. Despite her pain, she smiled at his beauty and the Snow King leaned towards her and kissed her gently on the lips. His kiss was so cold it took her last breath away. But that icy kiss also froze her. Her skin turned white and her hair turned blue. Taking her hand the Snow king led her to his ice palace high up in the mountains.

The flock of goats made their way on their own down the mountain and it was in vain the girl’s father and villagers hunted for her. She was never found. But every so often, when the winter storms are raging, the lovely singing of the girl can be heard amongst the howling of the wind. The villagers, tucked up in their homes tell stories of the Snow King and the beautiful girl who became his Ice Maiden. As they tell these tales, the Snow King and his Ice Maiden bride dance and sing in the snow and the wind.