The Frog Prince
A young and very beautiful princess lost her ball in the water,
while she was playing by the side of a lake. She began to cry so
sadly that the frog who sat beside the lake croaked to her, What
will you give me if I get you your ball back?
All the gold you could wish for! replied the princess. No, I ask
only that I am allowed to stay with you and be your friend, said
the frog. The princess gave her word (what did such a promise cost
her if it meant she could have her ball back?), but she had
absolutely no intention of keeping her promise. In fact, the moment
she had her ball back she ran off so fast that the frog could not
keep up with her. Nevertheless, after a while the frog arrived at
the palace.
As soon as she saw the frog, the princess was frightened. She
ran to ask for help from her father, but the king,who knew what had
happened,ordered his daughter to keep herpromise. So the princess
picked the frog up gently in her hand, but, with a shiver of
disgust, she let it drop to the ground again. But that one brief
touch was enough to break the spell that bound that frog, and
caused it to turn back into the young and handsome prince he had
been before.The story ends with the happiest of wedding
ceremonies.
The Rabbit Became White
Eye of the Eagle an Indian brave was a great hunter. One summer
the weather was so hot and dry that all the prairie animals moved
away in search of water, and even Eye of the Eagle could find no
game with which to feed his tribe. Things got so bad that one day
he got into his canoe and decided that he would have to follow the
wild animals into the Great North where they had fled.
He paddled and paddled and went so far, that one day he was
surprised to find himself in a snowstorm. This, however, did not
disturb him, because he knew he could follow more easily on the
snow the tracks left by animals. When he found the tracks of a
deer, he began to follow them; but the snow fell so heavily that
the hunter was blinded and became lost. He came across a brown
rabbit and it offered to help him by guiding him back to his canoe.
The rabbits dark skin stood out clearly against the snow.
In this way, Eye of the Eagle was saved. He was so grateful to
the rabbit that he chanted a magic spell which made its fur turn
white. This meant that the rabbit could no longer be seen against
the snow in winter and so no-one could hunt it again.
