The Frog Prince is also known under the titles The Frog King and The Frog King or the Iron Henry. The story starts with a princess who has a specific daily habit. She plays every day with her golden ball. Why the ball? Because she is young. Young people love balls. Why golden? Because she is a princess. Nobility is expected to have expensive toys.

One day, the princess plays with her golden ball as usual, but her toy falls into the well. This makes her very happy. She has no idea how to get her precious toy out of water. Then, something strange happens.

A frog appears in front of her and asks what is wrong. Why is she crying?

The princess is surprised at hearing the frog talking. Yet, she is also shocked by the loss of the golden ball and explains what just happened. She lost her toy. It's in the well, and she can't get it out.

The frog listens to her story and offers her help. Maybe it can get the ball out of the water but wants something in return.

The princess is desperate. She is willing to do anything to get her favorite toy back. She promises a reward.

The frog doesn't want anything material. It wants something else. Is the princess willing to take the frog with her? To sit with the frog at the table and share her food? Is she willing to play with the frog as she would play with a friend? Is she willing to take the frog into her bed to sleep covered with her fine sheets?

This makes the princess think. Why would a frog want all these? Then she gives her promises. Yes, she will take the frog with her to the castle and share food with it. Yes, she will play with the frog. And yes, she is even willing to let the frog sleep in her bed.

The frog jumps into the well and sometime after, returns with the golden ball. Mission accomplished! Now it's time for the princess to fulfill her promises.

The frog is totally ready to eat with her, but the princess just takes the ball and goes. She has got what she wants, and it's time to move on. She leaves, and the frog yells after her without any success.

The castle is not very far from the castle. It's just a short walk for the princess. For the frog, on the other hand, it's quite a journey. Nevertheless, it follows the princess. It takes almost a full day to reach the castle. Finally, it manages to the door.

The princess has to confront the frog. It promised to do something for her and she gave her promises. She should let the frog eat from her plate, play with her toys, and sleep in her bed.

But she doesn't want to. Anyway, does a word, given to a slimy frog, even count?

Well, the king has his own opinion. He tells his daughter that a given word is a given word. It depends on the giver. It doesn't matter if it's given to a frog. She should keep it.

While the princess can have her way, the king is still the final authority. If he says she should keep her promises, she can't oppose.

So, the frog enters the castle. It sits on the king's table. There it eats from the princess' plate. The frog clearly enjoys the meal. The princess is disgusted.

She hardly waits till the dinner is over. Still, the frog persists. Now it's time to play with her toys. The princess has to take the frog into her room.

There she has to let the frog play with her toys. A given word is a given word, and promises should be kept. Especially the promises given by the nobility.

When the playtime is over, the frog wants to sleep in the princess bed.

She promised that too, didn't she?

The princess has enough. She respects (and sometimes fears) her father, and she understands the importance of a given word pretty well, but enough is enough. When the frog persists to be taken into her bed, between her sheets, she grabs it and throws it against the wall with all her power.

At that very moment, the frog transforms into a handsome prince!

The frog wasn't a real frog. It was an enchanted prince, who had to meet certain criteria before regaining his original look. The princess likes him. He likes the princess. The king likes both.

Everybody likes everybody.

It's time for the wedding and the young couple is ready to move to his castle. On the way, something breaks loudly. Three times! The sounds were caused by breaks in the iron hoops used by the princes' most faithful servant Henry.

When the prince became a frog, Henry was so sad he put three iron hoops around his heart to prevent from breaking it of sorrow. Now, when the prince is back, his heart can beat without constraints!

The Frog Prince is the first fairy tale in the collection by Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm. It went through many changes during the seven editions published during the Grimms' lifetime. For instance, the persistence of the frog, a well-known symbol of fertility, to sleep in the princess' bed, looked too explicit to them, so they even deleted the mention of bed in later editions. (The first edition wasn't meant for children.) It's still worth exploring the symbolism of the frog.

Here are a few additional words on The Frog Prince, the fairy tale.

Gilbert James took an interesting approach to the presented fairy tale. He was limited with the printing technique, yet he still managed to infuse some effective color symbolism into the story. Please note how the colors used for the princess changed through three stages (also all three scenes) of the story and her life:

- immature, without responsibilities: green,
- passionate, doesn't want to change and take responsibilities: red,
- reconciled, ready for a new beginning: white.

See, how the golden ball resembles the Sun in te first picture, insinuating the rise of the princes from a girl to a woman.

And don't forget to note, how the frog is more and more often presented in black, the color of authority.

For everybody interested, a few words on the symbolism of colors.

Thanks for your visit, don't forget to check other Grimm's fairy tales, illustrated by Gilbert P. James!