by Albert Chen
Circa 1992
Once upon a time, in a land far, far away; where the sky is always blue and the trees always green, there was a great castle in a golden kingdom. In this castle there was a garden, and in this garden a lily pond. In this pond lived a frog. Rupert was a handsome frog, deep green with yellow flecks, but most striking of Rupert’s features was a yellow circle placed jauntily upon his head. His greatest ambition was to have a princess kiss his yellow spot, be transformed into a prince, and live happily ever after. But there were a lot of frogs in the pond and so few princesses. Rupert had a friend named Lily, a beautiful light green with orange speckles. Lily liked Rupert very much, for they had frolicked and played together when they were but tadpoles. But recently Rupert had gotten it into his mind that he was going to be a prince, so he spent most of his time admiring his reflection in the water and hardly noticed Lily.
One day as the cassias bloomed, a young girl with a circlet upon her head wandered into the garden. Rupert knew at once that she was a princess and spoke up loudly.
“Princess, you have come! Kiss me so that we may live happily ever after!” he said. The young princess could not understand, but her attention was caught by the frog’s croak. The little girl gleefully splashed into the shallow pond to take Rupert into her hands. Rupert was terrified by her splashing but did not run away. He screwed up his courage and again cried:
“Princess, you have come! Kiss me so that we may live happily ever after!”
The princess held Rupert so tight that he thought he may suffocate, but again he spoke his words. The princess paid no attention as she turned Rupert over and over to examine her prize. Noticing the yellow spot on his head she spoke to the frog in amazement.
“”Ooh, what an interesting mark you have on your head, it looks just like a crown” she thought aloud. “Maybe you are a prince who has been transformed by an evil witch. I will kiss you so that you may be free and we will live happily ever after.”
She closed her eyes and planted her lips onto Rupert’s head. Rupert kicked his legs in glee and closed his eyes to await the transformation. A moment past and yet another, but nothing happened. Rupert and the princess opened their eyes at the same time and were disappointed to find that Rupert was still a frog and the princess, of course, was still a princess. With a sad face, the little princess sat heavily into the water and set Rupert back into the pond. Dejected, the two stared at one another and mused until darkness began to fall.
“Maybe I’m just not old enough to break the spell,” she said finally and leapt to her feet, “after all, I’m only six. But … maybe my sister is. Don’t you move, I’ll bring my sister tomorrow and she will surely save you!”
With that she scampered away and left Rupert confused in the pond. He had not realized that a princess’s age made a difference where spells were concerned, but it still brought him hope. Inflating his chest he climbed back onto his lily pad. As he puffed up, proud in his green and yellow splendor, he heard a laugh from the reeds at the water’s edge.
“Silly Rupert,” Lily said gently, “you are not a prince, but a frog, and that is all you will ever be.”
Red in the face, Rupert turned away as if he had not heard her.
“I’m not trying to make you mad,” she continued, “but you are a frog, and a handsome oneat that. Why don’t you stop trying to be a prince and be happy as a frog?”
Provoked to anger, Rupert whirled around and cried “I will be a prince you just see! The princess’s sister will come and I will live happily ever after!”
Saddened, Lily turned away and said ” Poor Rupert, you can live happily ever after as a frog. A yellow circle on his head and you think you are a prince.”
The next day, true to her word, the little princess brought her sister into the garden. The older princess was beautiful indeed, and Rupert’s heart beat with anticipation.
“Over here, over here!” cried the younger sister. “The poor prince is over here!”
“Slow down, Lucy.” the elder sister replied. “We’ll see your little frog soon enough.”
As they approached the water’s edge Rupert watched entranced by the older princess’s beauty. In his awe, he failed to notice the bored, patronizing look on the girl’s face. Lily watched sadly from the reeds.
Lucy splashed directly into the pond much to the dismay of her sister. Seizing Rupert in her hands, she waded her way back to the elder princess.
“Here is the poor prince who was changed into a frog.” she proclaimed sadly as she came to her sister. “See the crown on her head?”
“Yes dear,” her sister replied absently, “now put him back so we can go home.”
“We can’t! We have to kiss him so that we can save him!”
The elder princess wrinkled her nose in distaste and replied sarcastically, “No thanks, why don’t you?”
“I’ve already tried.” Lucy replied sadly.
“You put your mouth on a frog?” her sister exclaimed horrified at the thought. “Wait till mother hears of this! Come with me young lady.”
“Kiss it! “Lucy cried at her sister’s unwillingness to help.
“Kiss it!” she yelled again, and shoved Rupert onto her sister’s repulsed lips. It was at that moment that Rupert had decided to speak.
“Princess, you have come…”
But all the princess heard was a loud “Cro-ak”. Startled, the princess screamed and knocked the poor frog away. Rupert fell to the mud and lay still there. The angry Princess took her little sister by the hand and dragged her kicking and screaming back into the castle, presumably to tell their mother.
His pride more bruised than he, Rupert cried to himself in the mud. No matter the circumstances, the beautiful princess had indeed kissed him and yet he was still a frog. All hope had vanished, and he decided that he should perish in the mud. It was then, that he felt soft lips on his skin. He looked up to find Lily kissing the yellow spot upon his head.
“Arise my prince.” she said “I am your Princess.”
Heady with her kiss, Rupert rose and together they went back into the pond and lived happily ever after.