The Reluctant Princess & Her Frog - Fairy Tales
Fandom: Fairy Tales
Rating: G
Word Count: 1430
A/N: Written for Aquila in the 2010 Yuletide Challenge, and archived here.
Once upon a time there once was a girl named Susanna. She was the youngest daughter of a king, but did not like to be called a princess. To her mind all princesses were stuffy, never leaving the castle and having to wear corsets that crushed their ribs and skirts that weighed them down. Susanna couldn't run in so many skirts, nor a corset. Since she had been told that she must act like this in order to attract a prince, Susanna decided that she certainly never wished to meet one. Instead she chose to run in the fields outside the castle, climb trees in the royal forest, and swim in the palace lake.
“Susanna, what shall we do with you?” asked all her nursemaids in dismay.
“You're twelve years old! You must learn to conduct yourself properly!” exclaimed her scandalized mother.
“Don't you want to be a princess?” asked her bewildered older sisters.
These reprimands did not concern Susanna, and she continued to roam around outdoors as she pleased. One day, as she was exploring the lake's muddy shores, she came across a frog that had been trapped underneath a log.
“Help me!” it croaked.
Susanna carefully lifted the log that was pinning the frog, and tried to wriggle it free.
“Don't crush me!” it said in a panicked voice.
“I won't,” Susanna promised.
After another minute the frog sprang free. It hopped a few feet. “Thank you!” it said gratefully.
“You're welcome,” Susanna lowered her face level with the frog and stared at it unblinkingly “Do you grant wishes?” she asked curiously.
“I'm afraid not,” the frog replied.
“Oh,” said Susanna a bit gloomily.
“But I can talk!” exclaimed the frog.
“Well I know that,” said Susanna exasperatedly.
“Don't you think that's special?” asked the frog, seemingly wounded by Susanna's lack of awe.
“I suppose,” said Susanna unconcernedly. “Do you do any other tricks?”
“I don't think so,” said the frog.
“Oh,” said Susanna, rather disappointed. “I'm glad you're free but I'm going to go away and play now!” she declared.
“Can't you take me with you?” the frog asked sadly.
“No, because if I do you will turn into a prince and I shall have to marry you!” said Susanna with disgust.
“Only if you kiss me,” the frog said reasonably.
Susanna mulled this over. “Alright, but I shan't kiss you!” she warned.
“Fine,” said the frog, “you're bound to be disappointed if you tried!”
Susanna ignored this silliness. “What's your name?” she asked.
“I can't remember,” replied the frog.
“Well I'm Susanna, and I am going to call you Frog.”
--
Susanna and Frog caused quite a stir when they returned to the castle.
“A magical frog has not been found in the kingdom for centuries!” gasped the most ninny-minded of Susanna's nursemaids.
Susanna's mother, the queen, was in raptures. “Imagine one of my daughters, my Susanna, finding her prince in such a way!”
“I think you might be disappointed,” Frog warned her.
The queen shrieked at the sound, “Does it always croak so?” she shuddered.
“Yes,” said Susanna happily.
Once their youngest daughter and Frog had departed, the royal couple debated the merits of Frog's appearance in their lives.
“She is a bit young to have such a thing thrust upon her,” the King hesitated.
“But how else shall we find a prince for her?” reasoned the Queen.
“I can not say,” sighed the king. “Very well, but she is not to be persuaded to kiss the frog until she is older!”
“Of course not,” agreed the queen. “I shall have to find husbands for the other girls before then anyway.”
And so Susanna was allowed to keep Frog always by her side and even let him sit on her pillow when she went to sleep at night.
--
When she was sixteen Susanna was forbidden to leave the castle without an escort. “It is too unladylike!” said the queen. “I have already allowed you far too much freedom, Susanna!”
“But Frog has already seen me run around outside!” reasoned Susanna. “He doesn't mind at all. If I hadn't been running around outside the day he was stuck, he would have died!”
But the Queen could not be swayed. She warned that if Susanna should step one single foot outside without permission, she would have her locked away in the tallest tower in the palace without even Frog for company.
Susanna did as she was told for the better part of a year. Even though she longed to go outside and run and climb trees as she used to, the queen's threat about Frog stuck with her. In the end it was Frog's misery which convinced Susanna to disobey royal command, for it was too difficult for her to see Frog pining for the outdoors. So Susanna made up her mind to run far away with Frog, and to try to forget she had been born a princess.
“You shouldn't do this, Susanna! I'm fine indoors, I promise!” Frog said nobly.
“No you're not, you miss the water and the mud at the lakeside, and the fresh air,” Susanna retorted. “And I should run away even if it weren't for you, so hush!”
But it was too late. Whether it was Frog's croaking or something else which had betrayed them, Susanna never knew. She and Frog had barely taken three steps outside the castle when they were apprehended. The queen kept her promise, and locked Susanna in the palace's highest tower, saying only, “I warned you, my darling!” before she left and took Frog with her.
At first Susanna wept for the loss of Frog and her freedom, but she very quickly realized that it did her no good to cry. Besides, the tears tasted salty and made her face wet, which she disliked enormously.
Susanna did not know how long she passed in the tower, she only knew that she missed Frog terribly. After being inseparable for nearly five years, it only stood to reason! Susanna thought.
One evening just before dusk she heard a scuffling on the stairs. She ran to the door and looked through the bars which served as a window. Frog appeared outside, visible only when he jumped up to the height of the bars.
“Forgive me Princess!” Frog begged. “It took me so long to escape the golden cage in which they kept me. I hopped half the night and half the day to get here. I have brought you the key so that you may be free!”
“Oh Frog, I knew you would come!” said Susanna adoringly. She took the key from Frog's mouth, unlocked the door and flung it open.
“What a wonderful, magnificent frog you are!” she exclaimed delightedly, gathering Frog in her arms.
Then, without a care for what she had always considered the most odious fate, she kissed Frog soundly on the lips.
As soon as she pulled away she knew what she had done. Frog was beginning to change right before her eyes. “Oh bother, I forgot!” Susanna cried, quite put out. But just as she was considering how a prince might not be so bad, as he could teach her to ride astride instead of side-saddle, she noticed that it was a young woman and not a prince who had appeared before her.
“Frog, you're a girl?” asked Susanna, rendered quite speechless for possibly the first time in her life. “And here we've been calling you 'he'!” she exclaimed in dismay.
“Well I feel rather like a frog still, but yes, I suppose I am a girl!” said Frog. “In fact, I think I am a princess!” she announced.
“Fantastic!” said Susanna eagerly, “We can run away together! I should think you wouldn't stand with such stuffiness as balls or tea parties either.”
“Do all princesses have to do so?” asked Frog, horrified.
“I believe so,” said Susanna gravely. “At least if your parents are anything like mine,” she said fairly.
“Oh, I thought it was just you,” said Frog mournfully. “This is such a bother, I don't want to do any of those things! I did so wish to live happily ever after with you! I thought that if you believed me to be a prince you would certainly never kiss me, and I could stay with you forever,” Frog said woefully.
“Well that's just nonsense!” said Susanna vehemently, “Even if you are a princess instead of a prince, I don't see any reason why we shouldn't live happily ever after!” she finished, leaning in to kiss Frog again.
And so they did.
Rating: G
Word Count: 1430
A/N: Written for Aquila in the 2010 Yuletide Challenge, and archived here.
Once upon a time there once was a girl named Susanna. She was the youngest daughter of a king, but did not like to be called a princess. To her mind all princesses were stuffy, never leaving the castle and having to wear corsets that crushed their ribs and skirts that weighed them down. Susanna couldn't run in so many skirts, nor a corset. Since she had been told that she must act like this in order to attract a prince, Susanna decided that she certainly never wished to meet one. Instead she chose to run in the fields outside the castle, climb trees in the royal forest, and swim in the palace lake.
“Susanna, what shall we do with you?” asked all her nursemaids in dismay.
“You're twelve years old! You must learn to conduct yourself properly!” exclaimed her scandalized mother.
“Don't you want to be a princess?” asked her bewildered older sisters.
These reprimands did not concern Susanna, and she continued to roam around outdoors as she pleased. One day, as she was exploring the lake's muddy shores, she came across a frog that had been trapped underneath a log.
“Help me!” it croaked.
Susanna carefully lifted the log that was pinning the frog, and tried to wriggle it free.
“Don't crush me!” it said in a panicked voice.
“I won't,” Susanna promised.
After another minute the frog sprang free. It hopped a few feet. “Thank you!” it said gratefully.
“You're welcome,” Susanna lowered her face level with the frog and stared at it unblinkingly “Do you grant wishes?” she asked curiously.
“I'm afraid not,” the frog replied.
“Oh,” said Susanna a bit gloomily.
“But I can talk!” exclaimed the frog.
“Well I know that,” said Susanna exasperatedly.
“Don't you think that's special?” asked the frog, seemingly wounded by Susanna's lack of awe.
“I suppose,” said Susanna unconcernedly. “Do you do any other tricks?”
“I don't think so,” said the frog.
“Oh,” said Susanna, rather disappointed. “I'm glad you're free but I'm going to go away and play now!” she declared.
“Can't you take me with you?” the frog asked sadly.
“No, because if I do you will turn into a prince and I shall have to marry you!” said Susanna with disgust.
“Only if you kiss me,” the frog said reasonably.
Susanna mulled this over. “Alright, but I shan't kiss you!” she warned.
“Fine,” said the frog, “you're bound to be disappointed if you tried!”
Susanna ignored this silliness. “What's your name?” she asked.
“I can't remember,” replied the frog.
“Well I'm Susanna, and I am going to call you Frog.”
--
Susanna and Frog caused quite a stir when they returned to the castle.
“A magical frog has not been found in the kingdom for centuries!” gasped the most ninny-minded of Susanna's nursemaids.
Susanna's mother, the queen, was in raptures. “Imagine one of my daughters, my Susanna, finding her prince in such a way!”
“I think you might be disappointed,” Frog warned her.
The queen shrieked at the sound, “Does it always croak so?” she shuddered.
“Yes,” said Susanna happily.
Once their youngest daughter and Frog had departed, the royal couple debated the merits of Frog's appearance in their lives.
“She is a bit young to have such a thing thrust upon her,” the King hesitated.
“But how else shall we find a prince for her?” reasoned the Queen.
“I can not say,” sighed the king. “Very well, but she is not to be persuaded to kiss the frog until she is older!”
“Of course not,” agreed the queen. “I shall have to find husbands for the other girls before then anyway.”
And so Susanna was allowed to keep Frog always by her side and even let him sit on her pillow when she went to sleep at night.
--
When she was sixteen Susanna was forbidden to leave the castle without an escort. “It is too unladylike!” said the queen. “I have already allowed you far too much freedom, Susanna!”
“But Frog has already seen me run around outside!” reasoned Susanna. “He doesn't mind at all. If I hadn't been running around outside the day he was stuck, he would have died!”
But the Queen could not be swayed. She warned that if Susanna should step one single foot outside without permission, she would have her locked away in the tallest tower in the palace without even Frog for company.
Susanna did as she was told for the better part of a year. Even though she longed to go outside and run and climb trees as she used to, the queen's threat about Frog stuck with her. In the end it was Frog's misery which convinced Susanna to disobey royal command, for it was too difficult for her to see Frog pining for the outdoors. So Susanna made up her mind to run far away with Frog, and to try to forget she had been born a princess.
“You shouldn't do this, Susanna! I'm fine indoors, I promise!” Frog said nobly.
“No you're not, you miss the water and the mud at the lakeside, and the fresh air,” Susanna retorted. “And I should run away even if it weren't for you, so hush!”
But it was too late. Whether it was Frog's croaking or something else which had betrayed them, Susanna never knew. She and Frog had barely taken three steps outside the castle when they were apprehended. The queen kept her promise, and locked Susanna in the palace's highest tower, saying only, “I warned you, my darling!” before she left and took Frog with her.
At first Susanna wept for the loss of Frog and her freedom, but she very quickly realized that it did her no good to cry. Besides, the tears tasted salty and made her face wet, which she disliked enormously.
Susanna did not know how long she passed in the tower, she only knew that she missed Frog terribly. After being inseparable for nearly five years, it only stood to reason! Susanna thought.
One evening just before dusk she heard a scuffling on the stairs. She ran to the door and looked through the bars which served as a window. Frog appeared outside, visible only when he jumped up to the height of the bars.
“Forgive me Princess!” Frog begged. “It took me so long to escape the golden cage in which they kept me. I hopped half the night and half the day to get here. I have brought you the key so that you may be free!”
“Oh Frog, I knew you would come!” said Susanna adoringly. She took the key from Frog's mouth, unlocked the door and flung it open.
“What a wonderful, magnificent frog you are!” she exclaimed delightedly, gathering Frog in her arms.
Then, without a care for what she had always considered the most odious fate, she kissed Frog soundly on the lips.
As soon as she pulled away she knew what she had done. Frog was beginning to change right before her eyes. “Oh bother, I forgot!” Susanna cried, quite put out. But just as she was considering how a prince might not be so bad, as he could teach her to ride astride instead of side-saddle, she noticed that it was a young woman and not a prince who had appeared before her.
“Frog, you're a girl?” asked Susanna, rendered quite speechless for possibly the first time in her life. “And here we've been calling you 'he'!” she exclaimed in dismay.
“Well I feel rather like a frog still, but yes, I suppose I am a girl!” said Frog. “In fact, I think I am a princess!” she announced.
“Fantastic!” said Susanna eagerly, “We can run away together! I should think you wouldn't stand with such stuffiness as balls or tea parties either.”
“Do all princesses have to do so?” asked Frog, horrified.
“I believe so,” said Susanna gravely. “At least if your parents are anything like mine,” she said fairly.
“Oh, I thought it was just you,” said Frog mournfully. “This is such a bother, I don't want to do any of those things! I did so wish to live happily ever after with you! I thought that if you believed me to be a prince you would certainly never kiss me, and I could stay with you forever,” Frog said woefully.
“Well that's just nonsense!” said Susanna vehemently, “Even if you are a princess instead of a prince, I don't see any reason why we shouldn't live happily ever after!” she finished, leaning in to kiss Frog again.
And so they did.