Classic story

The Frog Princess

A Polish tale
5 chapters
about 17 min

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An aging king commands his three sons to shoot arrows to find their future wives, as only an unmarried prince may inherit the throne. The eldest and second princes marry human women where their arrows land, but the youngest prince’s arrow falls into a lake beside a frog. To retrieve his arrow, he is forced by the frog to take her home as his wife under strict conditions of secrecy. When the king challenges the new brides to weave beautiful carpets, the youngest prince despairs until his wife summons magical maidens to create a flawless carpet overnight. The king declares her the winner and sets another trial to bake the finest cake, which she also completes with the help of enchanted winds and spirits. However, at the royal banquet, the prince foolishly burns her protective frog-skin to hide her transformation from courtiers. This rash act breaks the enchantment prematurely, causing his wife to flee in distress and turn into a duck before disappearing entirely. Grief-stricken, the youngest prince journeys across lands to find the kingdom of her mother, the Queen of Light. He encounters three old furies living in magical houses that move on crooked legs, seeking their aid to recover his lost love. Each time he attempts to catch the transforming duck, he fails due to fear or carelessness, losing her again and receiving guidance from the furies. Finally, with the help of the eldest fury, he successfully captures her when she becomes a spindle and breaks it to reveal his princess once more. She explains that her mother’s enemies are now defeated, allowing her to remain in human form permanently. The couple then travels via a magical crystal bridge and golden coach back to the palace to claim their rightful place as king and queen.

How it begins

THE FROG PRINCESS There was once a king, who was very old; but he had three grown-up sons. So he called them to him, and said: "My dear sons, I am very old, and the cares of government press heavily upon me. I must therefore give them over to one of you. But as it is the law among us, that no unmarried prince may be King, I wish you all to get married, and whoever chooses the best wife shall be my successor." So they determined each to go a different way, and settled it thus. They went to the top of a very high tower, and each one at a given signal shot an arrow in a different…

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The Frog Princess

How it begins

Every story, fully told

A voice for every character

The mood of every line

Pictures of every place

Read along

Your AI voice, for any character

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