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.
I gamle dage, dengang man kunne få sine ønsker opfyldt, levede der en konge, som havde en datter, der var så dejlig, at selv solen, der dog har set så meget kønt, undredes, hver gang den skinnede på hende. I nærheden af slottet lå der en stor, mørk skov, og der inde var der en brønd under en gammel lind. Når det var meget varmt, gik kongedatteren ud i skoven og satte sig ved vandet, og når hun kedede sig, spillede hun bold med en guldkugle, som var hendes kæreste legetøj.
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 water and croak with the other frogs, or could possibly be any one's companion.
En dag skete der det uheld, at hun ikke greb kuglen igen. Den rullede væk fra hende lige ud i vandet. Hun fulgte den med øjnene, men den forsvandt, og brønden var så dyb, at man slet ikke kunne se bunden. Hun gav sig til at græde, højere og højere, og var meget fortvivlet. På en gang hørte hun en stemme: "Hvad er der dog i vejen, lille prinsesse, du græder jo, så det kunne røre en sten." Da hun vendte sig om, så hun en frø, som stak sit ækle, tykke hoved op af vandet. "Å er det dig, gamle vandhund," sagde hun, "jeg græder, fordi min guldkugle er faldet i brønden." - "Vær bare rolig," sagde frøen, "jeg skal nok hjælpe dig. Hvad får jeg, når jeg skaffer dig dit legetøj igen?" - "Alt, hvad du vil," svarede kongedatteren, "mine klæder, mine perler og mine ædelstene, og hvis du bryder dig om det, må du også gerne få min guldkrone." - "Mange tak," sagde frøen, "alt det bryder jeg mig ikke om. Men vil du love mig at holde af mig og lege med mig og lade mig sidde ved siden af dig ved bordet og spise af din tallerken og drikke af dit bæger og sove hos dig i din seng, så skal jeg dykke ned og hente din guldkugle." - "Jeg lover dig det alt sammen, når du blot vil hente min kugle," svarede hun. Men ved sig selv tænkte hun: Sikken en tosset frø! Den kan da ikke være min legekammerat. Den må nok pænt blive nede hos de andre frøer og kvække.
But the frog, as soon as he heard her promise, drew his head under the water and sank down out of sight, but after a while he came to the surface again with the ball in his mouth, and he threw it on the grass. The King's daughter was overjoyed to see her pretty plaything again, and she caught it up and ran off with it. "Stop, stop!" cried the frog, "take me up too. I cannot run as fast as you!" But it was of no use, for croak, croak after her as he might, she would not listen to him, but made haste home, and very soon forgot all about the poor frog, who had to betake himself to his well again.
Frøen dykkede nu ned og kom lidt efter op igen med kuglen i munden. Den lagde den i græsset, og kongedatteren tog den henrykt og løb af sted med den. "Vent lidt," råbte frøen, "tag mig med. Jeg kan ikke løbe så hurtigt som du." Men det nyttede ikke, at den kvækkede så højt, den kunne. Hun hørte det ikke, men skyndte sig hjem og havde snart glemt den stakkels, grimme frø.
The next day, when the King's daughter was sitting at table with the King and all the court, and eating from her golden plate, there came something pitter patter up the marble stairs, and then there came a knocking at the door, and a voice crying: "Youngest King's daughter, let me in!" And she got up and ran to see who it could be, but when she opened the door, there was the frog sitting outside. Then she shut the door hastily and went back to her seat, feeling very uneasy. The King noticed how quickly her heart was beating, and said: "My child, what are you afraid of? Is there a giant standing at the door ready to carry you away?" - "Oh no," answered she, "no giant, but a horrid frog." - "And what does the frog want?" asked the King. "O dear father," answered she, "when I was sitting by the well yesterday, and playing with my golden ball, it fell into the water, and while I was crying for the loss of it, the frog came and got it again for me on condition I would let him be my companion, but I never thought that he could leave the water and come after me; but now there he is outside the door, and he wants to come in to me." And then they all heard him knocking the second time and crying:
Næste dag, da den lille prinsesse og kongen og hele hoffet sad og spiste til middag, hørte hun noget, der kom op ad marmortrappen, plask, plask. Så blev der banket på døren, og en stemme råbte: "Luk op, lille prinsesse." Hun gik hen for at se, hvem det var, og da hun lukkede op, sad frøen udenfor. Hun smækkede døren i og satte sig hen til bordet igen, men hun var slet ikke rigtig glad. Kongen kunne nok se, at der var noget i vejen med hende og spørge: "Hvad er det, du sidder og er bange for? Står der en kæmpe derude og vil tage dig?" - "Nej, det er ingen kæmpe," svarede hun, "det er en væmmelig frø." - "Men hvad vil den dog?" - "Å far, da jeg i går sad ude ved brønden og spillede bold, faldt kuglen i vandet. Så græd jeg, og frøen hentede den til mig, og så måtte jeg love den, at den skulle være min legekammerat. Men jeg var rigtig nok sikker på, at den ikke kunne komme op af vandet. Nu står den derude og vil ind." Imidlertid bankede frøen nok en gang og råbte:
"Youngest King's daughter,
"Lille prinsesse
Open to me!
luk døren op,
By the well water
jeg står herude og venter.
What promised
Den løn, du mig loved
you me?
ved brønden i går,
Youngest King's daughter
kommer jeg
Now open to me!"
nu og henter."
"That which thou hast promised must thou perform," said the King, "so go now and let him in." So she went and opened the door, and the frog hopped in, following at her heels, till she reached her chair. Then he stopped and cried: "Lift me up to sit by you." But she delayed doing so until the King ordered her. When once the frog was on the chair, he wanted to get on the table, and there he sat and said: "Now push your golden plate a little nearer, so that we may eat together." And so she did, but everybody might see how unwilling she was, and the frog feasted heartily, but every morsel seemed to stick in her throat. "I have had enough now," said the frog at last, "and as I am tired, you must carry me to your room, and make ready your silken bed, and we will lie down and go to sleep." Then the King's daughter began to weep, and was afraid of the cold frog, that nothing would satisfy him but he must sleep in her pretty clean bed. Now the King grew angry with her, saying: "That which thou hast promised in thy time of necessity, must thou now perform." So she picked up the frog with her finger and thumb, carried him upstairs and put him in a corner, and when she had lain down to sleep, he came creeping up, saying: "I am tired and want sleep as much as you; take me up, or I will tell your father." Then she felt beside herself with rage, and picking him up, she threw him with all her strength against the wall, crying: "Now will you be quiet, you horrid frog!"
Da sagde kongen: "Hvad du har lovet, skal du holde. Gå straks hen og luk op." Hun gjorde, som han sagde, og frøen kom ind og hoppede lige i hælene på hende hen til hendes stol. "Løft mig op," sagde den. Prinsessen gjorde det, men ikke før kongen sagde, hun skulle. Da frøen først var kommet op på stolen, ville den op på bordet, og da den var kommet derop, sagde den: "Skyd så din guldtallerken hen til mig, så spiser vi sammen." Hun gjorde det, men man kunne nok se, at hun ikke holdt af det. Frøen lod sig maden smage, men hver mundfuld blev siddende hende i halsen. "Nu er jeg træt," sagde den, da den havde spist, "bær mig nu ind i din stue, så lægger vi os til at sove i din silkeseng." Hun begyndte at græde, for hun var bange for den kolde frø, og turde ikke røre ved den, og nu skulle den ligge i hendes hvide, bløde seng! Men kongen blev vred og sagde: "Du skal ikke bagefter foragte den, der hjalp dig i din nød." Hun tog den så med to fingre og satte den i en krog inde i sin stue. Da hun havde lagt sig i sin seng, kom den kravlende og sagde: "Jeg er træt, jeg vil sove lige så godt som du. Hvis du ikke tager mig op til dig, siger jeg det til din far." Så blev kongedatteren for alvor vred, tog frøen og kastede den af alle kræfter mod væggen: "Nu kan du vel få hvilet dig nok, din væmmelige frø," råbte hun.
But as he fell, he ceased to be a frog, and became all at once a prince with beautiful kind eyes. And it came to pass that, with her father's consent, they became bride and bridegroom. And he told her how a wicked witch had bound him by her spells, and how no one but she alone could have released him, and that they two would go together to his father's kingdom. And there came to the door a carriage drawn by eight white horses, with white plumes on their heads, and with golden harness, and behind the carriage was standing faithful Henry, the servant of the young prince. Now, faithful Henry had suffered such care and pain when his master was turned into a frog, that he had been obliged to wear three iron bands over his heart, to keep it from breaking with trouble and anxiety. When the carriage started to take the prince to his kingdom, and faithful Henry had helped them both in, he got up behind, and was full of joy at his master's deliverance.
Men i det samme blev hun helt forskrækket, for i stedet for frøen stod der en kongesøn med kønne, gode øjne og så på hende. Han fortalte, at en ond heks havde forvandlet ham til en frø, og kongedatteren var den eneste, der kunne frelse ham. Hun løb efter sin far, og da han havde hørt historien, bestemte han, at kongesønnen skulle giftes med prinsessen. Så gik de i seng, og da solen næste morgen vækkede dem, holdt der en vogn, forspændt med otte hvide heste. De havde hvide strudsfjer på hovedet og var spændt fast med guldkæder. Bagpå stod vognen den tro Henrik, den unge konges tjener. Han havde været så bedrøvet, fordi hans herre var forhekset til en frø, at han havde lagt tre jernbånd om sit hjerte, for ikke at det skulle briste af sorg. Den tro Henrik løftede nu kongesønnen og prinsessen ind i vognen, og stillede sig bagved dem, og hans hjerte svulmede af glæde over, at hans herre var frelst.
And when they had gone a part of the way, the prince heard a sound at the back of the carriage, as if something had broken, and he turned round and cried:
Da de havde kørt et stykke, hørte kongesønnen, at der var noget bagved ham, der knagede, som om det gik itu. Han vendte sig om og sagde:
"Henry, the wheel must be breaking!"
"Hørte du Henrik, aksen brast?"
"The wheel does not break,
"Nej, herre, vognen går støt og fast,
'Tis the band round my heart
det var kun det bånd, jeg bar om mit hjerte,
That, to lessen its ache,
at ikke det skulle briste af smerte,
When I grieved for your sake,
da I måtte friste et kummerligt liv
I bound round my heart."
hos frøer og tudser blandt tang og siv."
Again, and yet once again there was the same sound, and the prince thought it must be the wheel breaking, but it was the breaking of the other bands from faithful Henry's heart, because it was now so relieved and happy.
To gange endnu hørte kongesønnen noget, der knagede, og begge gange troede han, at vognen gik itu. Men det var kun jernbåndene om den tro Henriks hjerte, der sprang, fordi hans bryst var fyldt af lykke over, at hans herre var frelst.