and shrieked out for
joy; and he dismounted and took her in his arms, and she kissed him,
saying,

"Now hast thou set me free from my enchantment, and to-morrow we will be
married."

THE FROG PRINCE

IN the old times, when it was still of some use to wish for the thing
one wanted, there lived a King whose daughters were all handsome, but
the youngest was so beautiful that the sun himself, who has seen so
much, wondered each time he shone over her because of her beauty. Near
the royal castle there was a great dark wood, and in the wood under an
old linden-tree was a well; and when the day was hot, the King's
daughter used to go forth into the wood and sit by the brink of the cool
well, and if the time seemed long, she would take out a golden ball, and
throw it up and catch it again, and this was her favourite pastime.

Now it happened one day that the golden ball, instead of falling back
into the maiden's little hand which had sent it aloft, dropped to the
ground near the edge of the well and rolled in. The king's daughter
followed it with her eyes as it sank, but the well was deep, so deep
that the bottom could not be seen. Then she began to weep, and she wept
and wept as if she could never be comforted. And in the midst of her
weeping she heard a voice saying to her,

"What ails thee, king's daughter? thy tears would melt a heart of
stone."

And when she looked to see where the voice came from, there was nothing
but a frog stretching his thick ugly head out of the water.

"Oh, is it you, old waddler?" said she; "I weep because my golden ball
has fallen into the well."

"Never mind, do not weep," answered the frog; "I can help you; but what
will you give me if I fetch up your ball again?"

"Whatever you like, dear frog," said she; "any of my clothes, my pearls
and jewels, or even the golden crown that I wear."

"Thy clothes, thy pearls and jewels, and thy golden crown are not for
me," answered the frog; "but if thou wouldst love me, and have me for
thy companion and play-fellow, and let me sit by thee at table, and eat
from thy plate, and drink from thy cup, and sleep in thy little bed,--if
thou wouldst promise all this, then would I dive below the water and
fetch thee thy golden ball again."

"Oh yes," she answered; "I will promise it all, whatever you want, if
you will only get me my ball again."

But she thought to herself, "What nonsense he talks! as if he could do
anything but sit in the wat