The Queen of Frogs
Content notes: abuse of power, animal abuse (as in throwing a frog)
Locked away in the regent’s office was a golden ball. It had appeared on the day that the good queen vanished in a poof. In her place on the throne was instead the golden ball and a voice echoed through the hall: “I have your queen. As long as this sphere chimes upon contact, know she is still alive. Look for me, and she will die!”
And it was important to know that the queen was still alive, because for as long as she was, the regent would rule in her stead. Once she died, a new queen would have to be found.
The son of the current regent once again picked the lock of the box the ball was in, to stare at it. His father’s father had been the first regent to rule, so by now the queen must be quite old, as she had been about his age when she vanished. If she died, his family would lose their power, their income, their standing. He wanted to find a way to replicate the chiming sound, so that even if the ball did not chime any longer, it would seem as if it did, keeping the queen officially alive and his family at the top. There were still riches to be gained from this realm.
The ball chimed quietly as he picked it up, as usual. Maybe a bit more quietly? He could not say. Turning it this way and that, he went closer to the window, for better light. When the door to the office opened unexpectedly, he was startled and dropped the ball. He could only watch it fall, bounce on the sill with a chime, and then drop out of the window. He turned and ran past the servant, who had obliviously started cleaning the room. Down the stairs and into the garden the regent’s son hurried, that he might retrieve the ball. He made it just in time to hear the splash. The ball had rolled into the pond.
As the pond was deep and murky, there was no chance that he could ever find the ball again and so he stood two steps into the water, cursing in frustration. “That is quite a tongue you have there,” said a frog. “Wherefore are you so dreary, deary?”
The regent’s son sighed. “I dropped the golden ball and it fell into the pond. I have to have it back!” The frog said “Fear not, young man. I can retrieve the ball for you – but what is in it for me?” The young man offered gold and gems and the finest sword in the realm, but the frog had no use for such things. “But if you promise to take me with you, let me eat from your golden plate, drink from your cup and sleep in your bed, if you make me your friend and comrade, then I shall fetch you your golden ball.” The young man promised all this, sure that a frog would not be able to hold him accountable.
Quick as a thought, the frog dove into the pond and reappeared with the golden ball. Quickly the regent’s son picked up the ball and made haste to bring it back to the box before anyone noticed its absence. He paid no heed to the frog calling out, “Wait, you promised to take me with you!”
At dinner the next day when the whole court sat down, the regent and his family eating from their golden plates, the frog hopped onto the table. The regent made to grab it, but the frog said, “Your son promised me a place at your table, as a reward for my help.” The regent asked his son, “Is that so?” and the son nodded, fearing that if he denied it, the frog would tell everyone what had happened. So the regent made his son share his food and drink with the frog, saying, “You must keep your promises, always.” The court murmured in agreement, although they were aware that the regent himself did not always keep his word.
When it was time for sleep, the frog announced that he now wanted to sleep in the bed of the regent’s son, as was promised. The young man did not seem to relish this thought, but his father said, “You may not shun those who helped you when you were in need,” and the court murmured in agreement, although they were aware that the regent’s gratitude did not last all that long.
When the frog hopped onto the bed, the young man swiped it off the mattress. “I am tired, and you promised,” said the frog, hopping back on. The regent’s son pushed the frog off again. It hopped back up, asking, “Do you want me to tell your father what happened?” This made the young man so angry that he picked up the frog and hurled it across the room. The frog hit a wall, and as it fell to the ground it was no longer a frog, but a woman.
The young man was suddenly very conscious of being in his nightshirt only, and grabbed for the covers, but the woman said, “Now that the spell is broken, I am the queen again and a frog no longer. You and your family have abused the power entrusted to you for long enough. You shall all leave the castle tonight, with nothing but what you are wearing right now. You can only hope that my people will treat you more kindly than you treated them.”
And thus the regent and his family were cast out of the castle, now dependent on the good will of the people they had treated so badly. The queen gave back what the regents had greedily taken by way of unreasonable taxes or impounded property and listened to all who had been wronged in her absence. The people were so happy to have their queen back that they did not seek to take revenge on the regent but helped the family with discarded clothes and household items. Soon the regent and his family left the realm to live with their now meager possessions elsewhere, starting over in a place where nobody knew who they had been.
While the former regent and his wife were too ashamed and too angry about what had happened, the son remembered the unexpected kindness of the people and made himself the promise to become a man who deserved that kindness. It may be that he changed, it may be that he freely chose to make this promise, but this was the first promise he kept, even if it meant putting others first. And maybe, in time, he found joy and peace and his place in life along this path.
