cuckoo

Long ago and far away, there lived a princess.
On her birthday the Queen said, “I promise to
give you any toy you want.”

“I want a ball made of gold,” said the Princess.
“There are no balls made of gold,” said the Queen.
“But a promise is a promise,” said the Princess.

So the Queen had a ball of gold made for the Princess.

One day the Princess was playing with her ball. But the ball fell into the pond.
“I have lost my ball made of gold!” said the Princess. She began to cry.

A small frog hopped over to the Princess. “I can get your ball back,” the frog said. “Frogs can’t talk!” said the Princess.
“Well I can!” said Frog.

“I will get your ball back,” said Frog. “But only if you make me a promise.”
“I will promise anything you like,” said the Princess. “You can even have my crown!”
“A frog has no need for a crown,” said Frog.

“What do you want, then?” said the Princess.
“I want you to promise to be my friend,” said Frog.
“Easy!” said the Princess. “I will do that.”

So Frog jumped into the pond. He got the ball back, just as he had promised.
“Now we will be friends,” he said.

The Princess grabbed the ball. She did not say ‘thank you’ to Frog.
“Hey!” said Frog. “What about your promise?” But the Princess just ran away.

Later, as the Princess ate her supper, she heard a sound.
“What’s that?” said the Queen. “Nothing,” said the Princess.

“Open the door!” said the Queen. “No, please don’t!” said the Princess.

The Queen opened the door. “Oh no!” said the Princess.
Frog came into the room. “Good evening,” he said.

“What do you want, Frog?” said the Queen.
“I want the Princess to be my friend, just as she promised,” said Frog.

“I can’t be friends with a cold, wet frog!” said the Princess.
“A promise is a promise,” said the Queen.

So Frog sat at the table and ate supper from a plate made of gold.

“Now will you go back to the pond?” said the Princess.
“A real friend would let me stay,” said Frog. “A promise is a promise.”

So the Princess took Frog up to her bedroom. “You can sleep in this nice box,” said the Princess.
“A real friend would let me sleep on her pillow,” said Frog.
So the Princess put Frog on her pillow.

As he sat on the pillow, magic happened. Frog grew and grew. He changed into … a boy!
“Who are you?” said the Princess.

“I am a prince,” said the boy. “A witch turned me into a frog. The only thing that could turn me back into a prince was somebody being a good friend to me.”
“But I was a bad friend,” said the Princess. “I didn’t like you at first.”
“You were a good friend,” said the Prince. “You gave me food. You even let me sit on your pillow.”

The Princess and the Prince became real friends. They liked to play with the ball made of gold, but they never went near the pond.

When they grew up, the Prince and Princess got married.
They promised to love each other for ever. And they did love each other for ever and ever.
After all, a promise is a promise.