The Frog King, or Iron Henry
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IN OLD times when wishing still helped one, there lived a king whose daughters were all beautiful, but the youngest was so beautiful that the sun itself, which has seen so much, was astonished whenever it shone in her face. Close by the King's castle1 lay a great dark forest,2 and under an old lime-tree in the forest was a well, and when the day was very warm, the King's child went out into the forest and sat down by the side of the cool fountain,3 and when she was dull she took a golden ball,4 and threw it up on high and caught it, and this ball was her favorite plaything. Now it so happened that on one occasion the princess's golden ball did not fall into the little hand which she was holding up for it, but on to the ground beyond, and rolled straight into the water. The King's daughter followed it with her eyes, but it vanished, and the well was deep, so deep that the bottom could not be seen. On this she began to cry, and cried louder and louder, and could not be comforted. And as she thus lamented some one said to her, "What ails thee, King's daughter? Thou weepest so that even a stone would show pity." She looked round to the side from whence the voice came, and saw a frog5 stretching forth its thick, ugly head from the water. "Ah! old water-splasher, is it thou?" said she; "I am weeping for my golden ball, which has fallen into the well." "Be quiet, and do not weep," answered the frog, "I can help thee, but what wilt thou give me if I bring thy plaything up again?" "Whatever thou wilt have, dear frog," said she -- "My clothes, my pearls and jewels, and even the golden crown which I am wearing."6 The frog answered, "I do not care for thy clothes, thy pearls and jewels, or thy golden crown, but if thou wilt love me and let me be thy companion and play-fellow, and sit by thee at thy little table, and eat off thy little golden plate, and drink out of thy little cup, and sleep in thy little bed -- if thou wilt promise me this I will go down below, and bring thee thy golden ball up again." "Oh yes," said she, "I promise thee all thou wishest, if thou wilt but bring me my ball back again." She, however, thought, "How the silly frog does talk! He lives in the water with the other frogs, and croaks, and can be no companion to any human being!" But the frog when he had received this promise, put his head into the water and sank down, and in a short while came swimmming up again with the ball in his mouth, and threw it on the grass. The King's daughter was delighted to see her pretty plaything once more, and picked it up, and ran away with it. "Wait, wait," said the frog. "Take me with thee. I can't run as thou canst." But what did it avail him to scream his croak, croak, after her, as loudly as he could? She did not listen to it, but ran home and soon forgot the poor frog, who was forced to go back into his well again. The next day when she had seated herself at table with the King and all the courtiers, and was eating from her little golden plate, something came creeping splish splash, splish splash, up the marble staircase, and when it had got to the top, it knocked at the door and cried, "Princess, youngest princess, open the door for me." She ran to see who was outside, but when she opened the door, there sat the frog in front of it. Then she slammed the door to, in great haste, sat down to dinner again, and was quite frightened. The King saw plainly that her heart was beating violently, and said, "My child, what art thou so afraid of? Is there perchance a giant outside who wants to carry thee away?" "Ah, no," replied she. "It is no giant but a disgusting frog." "What does a frog want with thee?" "Ah, dear father, yesterday as I was in the forest sitting by the well, playing, my golden ball fell into the water. And because I cried so, the frog brought it out again for me, and because he so insisted, I promised him he should be my companion, but I never thought he would be able to come out of his water! And now he is outside there, and wants to come in to me." In the meantime it knocked a second time, and cried, "Princess! youngest princess! Then said the King, "That which thou hast promised must thou perform.7 Go and let him in." She went and opened the door, and the frog hopped in and followed her, step by step, to her chair. There he sat and cried, "Lift me up beside thee." She delayed, until at last the King commanded her to do it. When the frog was once on the chair he wanted to be on the table, and when he was on the table he said, "Now, push thy little golden plate nearer to me that we may eat together." She did this, but it was easy to see that she did not do it willingly. The frog enjoyed what he ate, but almost every mouthful she took choked her. At length he said, "I have eaten and am satisfied; now I am tired, carry me into thy little room and make thy little silken bed ready, and we will both lie down and go to sleep." The King's daughter began to cry, for she was afraid of the cold frog which she did not like to touch, and which was now to sleep in her pretty, clean little bed. But the King grew angry and said, "He who helped thee when thou wert in trouble ought not afterwards to be despised by thee." So she took hold of the frog with two fingers, carried him upstairs, and put him in a corner. But when she was in bed he crept to her and said, "I am tired, I want to sleep as well as thou, lift me up or I will tell thy father." Then she was terribly angry, and took him up and threw him with all her might against the wall.8 "Now, thou wilt be quiet, odious frog," said she. But when he fell down he was no frog but a King's son with beautiful kind eyes.9 He by her father's will was now her dear companion and husband. Then he told her how he had been bewitched by a wicked witch,10 and how no one could have delivered him from the well but herself, and that to-morrow they would go together into his kingdom. Then they went to sleep, and next morning when the sun awoke them, a carriage came driving up with eight white horses, which had white ostrich feathers on their heads, and were harnessed with golden chains, and behind stood the young King's servant Faithful Henry.11 Faithful Henry had been so unhappy when his master was changed into a frog, that he had caused three iron bands to be laid round his heart, lest it should burst with grief and sadness. The carriage was to conduct the young King into his Kingdom. Faithful Henry helped them both in, and placed himself behind again, and was full of joy because of this deliverance. And when they had driven a part of the way the King's son heard a cracking behind him as if something had broken. So he turned round and cried, "Henry, the carriage is breaking."#p# "No, master, it is not the carriage. It is a band from my heart, which was put there in my great pain when you were a frog and imprisoned in the well." Again and once again while they were on their way something cracked, and each time the King's son thought the carriage was breaking; but it was only the bands which were springing from the heart of faithful Henry because his master was set free and was happy. 1. Castle: According to Jack Zipes, the original Grimms manuscript did not mention a castle and offers an ambiguous setting. The later versions of 1812 and 1857 have integrated the castle and made the princess a more obviously wealthy and spoiled child (Zipes 1983). 2. Forest: The ever present forest emphasizes the Germanic nature of this version of the tale. While the forest is not as important in this tale as in others, it still provides a presence and a setting. Over a quarter of Germany is forest and thus the forest is a familiar setting for its inhabitants. 3. Fountain: In some versions of the story, the fountain is a well. Traditionally, good spirits live in wells, and from thence came the tradition of throwing coins into wells in hopes of having a wish come true (Philip 1997). 4. Golden ball: The golden ball is twofold in symbolism. As an item made of gold, it is the frivolous and flaunting wealth of royalty and of a selfish, immature princess. As a toy, it shows the princess' immaturity as she holds the toy as more important than her clothes, jewels or crown. According to Bettelheim, the ball represents the princess' "undeveloped narcissistic psyche, it contains all potentials, none yet realized." He believe it also symbolizes perfection as a sphere and as the precious metal, gold (Bettelheim 1975). 5. Frog: Frogs symbolize new life in many cultures and thus often appear helpful or kind in folklore. However, frogs also have connections with witchcraft, often as witches' familiars, and are despised by some religious groups for that reason (Philip 1997). Frogs are also animals involved in natural transformations as they progress from tadpoles to frogs. The frog's transformative nature makes it an acceptable animal to transform into a prince at the end of the story. Some critics emphasize the phallic symbolism of the frog, theorizing that the story is about a maiden maturing and overcoming her fear and disgust for the male genitalia. Julius Heuscher states: "The innocent young girl's fear of and repugnance toward the male genitals and the transformation of this disgust into happiness and sanctioned matrimony can hardly be symbolized better than by this transformation of the frog into the prince" (Heuscher 1974). The story as one about sexual maturity and acceptance of a marital relationship is more explicit in the earliest Grimms manuscript of 1810. In the early version, the frog's desire to sleep with the princess is overt and not hidden in ornate details (Zipes 1983). 6. "My clothes, my pearls and jewels, and even the golden crown which I am wearing.": Unlike Rumpelstiltskin, the frog makes no pretense of wanting material possessions despite the princess' desire to pay her debt with her riches. She values them much less than her own personal comfort, so it would not be a proper sacrifice as it is for the miller's daughter in the first part of the Rumpelstiltskin tale. 7. That which thou hast promised must thou perform: After changes made by the Grimms, the primary moral of the story is to keep a promise once it is made. The king, being a good father, emphasizes this lesson to his royal daughter, insisting she keep her promise to the frog. 8. Threw him with all her might against the wall: The earliest versions of the story have the princess committing an act of violence which breaks the spell instead of the now famous kiss. Most often the frog is thrown against the wall, but in some versions he is beheaded or his skin is burnt. Sometimes, simply sleeping in the princess' bed is sufficient to break the spell. Maria Tatar notes that "passion rather than compassion leads to a happy ending" to this tale (Tatar 1988). The kiss, which is now an established part of our popular culture, apparently first appeared in English translations of the tale, influenced by Edgar Taylor's English translation of the tale in 1823. Taylor believed in a more passive and romantic princess who breaks spells without a fit of temper. Instead of an act of violence, or a kiss, the frog sleeps with the princess for three nights before the spell is broken. Then the princess awakens to discover the disenchanted prince in her room. While Taylor chose this ending over the one offered by the Grimms, he did not invent it. It actually appears in a similar form in another version of the tale outlined by the Grimms in their notes (see the notes at the top of this page). This passivity eventually became a romantic kiss, although the exact edition and translation when it first appeared is unclear. Kissing the frog is now the best known element of the tale and referenced quite often in pop culture. 9. King's son with beautiful kind eyes: One wonders if the princess deserves such a blessing after her behavior, but her royal status traditionally makes her the proper bride for a prince. Besides, she is responsible for breaking the spell however objectionable her methods may be. The description of the eyes also implies the prince is not upset over the mistreatments he received while still a frog. 10. Bewitched by a wicked witch: No version of the story explains why a witch cast the spell on the prince. However, it is interesting that a witch is mentioned in passing as the culprit. Witches are often responsible for casting transformation spells in other tales, so the witch is essentially a stereotype used in this story. 11. Faithful Henry: Faithful (or Iron) Henry is often included in the title of the story. The sound of the breaking of the bands around his heart "externalizes the sense of liberation felt by all the characters" (Tatar 2002). |
