In the garden of an old stone castle, a princess stood beside a deep well under a lime tree. She tossed a golden ball in her hands, catching it in the light and tossing it up again. It was the thing she loved best, for it shone even on cloudy days and fit her palm as if it had been made there.
That afternoon, her fingers slipped. The golden ball struck the rim of the well, flashed once, and dropped into the dark water below. The princess leaned over the stones and listened, but no splash came back to her, only the deep hush of the well. Then she sat on the grass and wept, because the water was too deep and the ball was gone from her sight.
From the moss at the foot of the well, a frog lifted his round head. "Princess," he said, "your tears fall one by one. What has been lost?" She looked down and saw him there, green and wet as a leaf after rain. "My golden ball has fallen into the well," she said. "If I had it again, I would be glad at once."
"I can fetch it," said the frog. "But if I bring it back, I ask this: let me be your companion. Let me sit beside you, eat from your little golden plate, drink from your cup, and rest in your chamber." The princess looked at his small green feet and his broad mouth, but she thought only …
6 chapters
