could never get out of the spring; but there he is at the door, and he
wants to come in.'

While she was speaking the frog knocked again at the door, and said:

'Open the door, my princess dear,
Open the door to thy true love here!
And mind the words that thou and I said
By the fountain cool, in the greenwood shade.'

Then the king said to the young princess, 'As you have given your word
you must keep it; so go and let him in.' She did so, and the frog
hopped into the room, and then straight on--tap, tap--plash, plash--
from the bottom of the room to the top, till he came up close to the
table where the princess sat. 'Pray lift me upon chair,' said he to
the princess, 'and let me sit next to you.' As soon as she had done
this, the frog said, 'Put your plate nearer to me, that I may eat out
of it.' This she did, and when he had eaten as much as he could, he
said, 'Now I am tired; carry me upstairs, and put me into your bed.'
And the princess, though very unwilling, took him up in her hand, and
put him upon the pillow of her own bed, where he slept all night long.
As soon as it was light he jumped up, hopped downstairs, and went out
of the house. 'Now, then,' thought the princess, 'at last he is gone,
and I shall be troubled with him no more.'

But she was mistaken; for when night came again she heard the same
tapping at the door; and the frog came once more, and said:

'Open the door, my princess dear,
Open the door to thy true love here!
And mind the words that thou and I said
By the fountain cool, in the greenwood shade.'

And when the princess opened the door the frog came in, and slept upon
her pillow as before, till the morning broke. And the third night he
did the same. But when the princess awoke on the following morning she
was astonished to see, instead of the frog, a handsome prince, gazing
on her with the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen, and standing at
the head of her bed.

He told her that he had been enchanted by a spiteful fairy, who had
changed him into a frog; and that he had been fated so to abide till
some princess should take him out of the spring, and let him eat from
her plate, and sleep upon her bed for three nights. 'You,' said the
prince, 'have broken his cruel charm, and now I have nothing to wish
for but that you should go with me into my father's kingdom, where I
will marry you, and love you as long as you live.'

The young princess, you may be sure, was not long in saying 'Yes' to
all this; and as they spoke a gay coach drove up, with eight beautiful
horses, decked with plumes of feathers and a golden harness; and
behind the coach rode the prince's servant, faithful Heinrich, who had
bewailed the misfortunes of his dear master during his enchantment so
long and so bitterly, that his heart had well-nigh burst.

They then took leave of the king, and got into the coach with eight
horses, and all set out, full of joy and merriment, for the prince's
kingdom, which they reached safely; and there they lived happily a
great many years.



CAT AND MOUSE IN PARTNERSHIP

A certain cat had made the acquaintance of a mouse, and had said so
much to her about the great love and friendship she felt for her, that
at length the mouse agreed that they should live and keep house
together. 'But we must make a provision for winter, or else we shall
suffer from hunger,' said the cat; 'and you, little mouse, cannot
venture everywhere, or you will be caught in a trap some day.' The
good advice was followed, and a pot of fat was bought, but they did
not know where to put it. At length, after much consideration, the cat
said: 'I know no place where it will be better stored up than in the
church, for no one dares take anything away from there. We will set it
beneath the altar, and not touch it until we are really in need of
it.' So the pot was placed in safety, but it was not long before the
cat had a great yearning for it, and said to the mouse: 'I want to
tell you something, little mouse; my cousin has brought a little son
into the world, and has asked me to be godmother; he is white with
brown spots, and I am to hold him over the font at the christening.
Let me go out today, and you look after the house by yourself.' 'Yes,
yes,' answered the mouse, 'by all means go, and if you get anything
very good to eat, think of me. I should like a drop of sweet red
christening wine myself.' All this, however, was untrue; the cat had
no cousin, and had not been asked to be godmother. She went straight
to the church, stole to the pot of fat, began to lick at it, and
licked the top of the fat off. Then she took a walk upon the roofs of
the town, looked out for opportunities, and then stretched herself in
the sun, and licked her lips whenever she thought of the pot of fat,
and not until it was evening did she return home. 'Well, here you are
again,' said the mouse, 'no doubt you have had a merry day.' 'All went
off well,' answered the cat. 'What name did they give the child?' 'Top
off!' said the cat quite coolly. 'Top off!' cried the mouse, 'that is
a very odd and uncommon name, is it a usual one in your family?' 'What
does that matter,' said the cat, 'it is no worse than Crumb-stealer,
as your godchildren are called.'

Before long the cat was seized by another fit of yearning. She said to
the mouse: 'You must do me a favour, and once more manage the house
for a day alone. I am again asked to be godmother, and, as the child


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