The Complete Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm All-New Third Edition (Electronic book text, 3)

The Frog King, or Iron Heinrich
In olden times, when wishing still helped, there lived a king whose daughters were all beautiful, but the youngest was so beautiful that the sun itself, which had seen so many things, was always filled with amazement each time it cast its rays upon her face. Now, there was a great dark forest near the king's castle, and in this forest, beneath an old linden tree, was a well. Whenever the days were very hot, the king's daughter would go into this forest and sit down by the edge of the cool well. If she became bored, she would take her golden ball, throw it into the air, and catch it. More than anything else she loved playing with this ball.
One day it so happened that the ball did not fall back into the princess's little hand as she reached out to catch it. Instead, it bounced right by her and rolled straight into the water. The princess followed it with her eyes, but the ball disappeared, and the well was deep, so very deep that she could not see the bottom. She began to cry, and she cried louder and louder, for there was nothing that could comfort her. As she sat there grieving over her loss a voice called out to her, "What's the matter, Princess? Your tears could move even a stone to pity."
She looked around to see where the voice was coming from and saw a frog sticking his thick, ugly head out of the water. "Oh, it's you, you old water-splasher " she said. "I'm crying because my golden ball has fallen into the well."
"Be quiet and stop crying," the frog responded. "I'm sure I can help you. But what will you give me if I fetch your plaything?"
"Whatever you like, dear frog," she said. "My clothes, my pearls and jewels, even the golden crown I'm wearing on my head."
"I don't want your clothes, your pearls and jewels, or your golden crown," the frog replied. "But if you will love me and let me be your companion and playmate, and let me sit beside you at the table, eat from your little golden plate, drink out of your little cup, and sleep in your little bed--if you promise me all that, I'll dive down and retrieve your golden ball."
"Oh, yes," she said. "I'll promise you anything you want if only you'll bring back the ball " However, she thought, What nonsense that stupid frog talks He just sits in the water croaking with the rest of the frogs. How can he expect a human being to accept him as a companion?
Once the frog had her promise, he dipped his head under the water, dived downward, and soon came paddling back to the surface with the ball in his mouth. When he threw it onto the grass, the princess was so delighted to see her beautiful plaything again that she picked it up and ran off with it.
"Wait, wait " cried the frog. "Take me with you. I can't run like you."
He croaked as loudly as he could, but what good did it do? She paid no attention to him. Instead, she rushed home and soon forgot about the poor frog, who had to climb back down into his well.
The next day, as she sat at the table with the king and his courtiers and ate from her little golden plate, something came crawling splish, splash, splish, splash up the marble steps. When it reached the top, it knocked at the door and cried out, "Princess, youngest daughter, open up