Try This One on for Size

bursting bulk. She got in, adjusted her more than few scandalous scarves and large creamy purple hat, and set out to get some real, hopefully, finally, revealing answers from her little wise, mud-soaked friend. A Trumpet swan looked her over suspiciously before deciding it wasn't worth chasing her back to the shore, too much bother. Two hefty clouds

squeezed darkly together, but couldn't make it rain one bit, so they let her pass with a little patch of sunlight thrown down for spite. Her lucky day, said one cloud to the other, before closing its eyes and beginning to snore.  As the princess got closer to the spot where she knew the frog liked to sit and lick his lips and wait for incoming, drunken flies, she

adjusted her headphones, once more, and began to whistle a well-rehearsed happy tune. Soon she heard a familiar splashing, bobbing up and down sound, just near the boat's peeling stern. Well. What is it this time, he spoke, another rejection, another helping, but webbed hand to hold, I suppose, to get you out of a rather sticky situation with a

bratty prince of some royal sort or another, or perhaps just a fun poke in the ribs for your old forgotten companion, once as human as you, for old time's sake? Ah, there you are. You don't have to be so bitter, she said, I've told you before it's nothing personal, I just wanted something more than a lake and a nice place to hibernate in winter. All

right, let's hear it, he croaked, my legs are getting tired of paddling, plus there are immoral fish, not to mention gangster snakes in here, who would love nothing more than a bite of fresh frog legs to go with their slimy suppers for tonight. She reached down and scooped him up in her velvety hands and set him kindly into the boat, right on the middle beam,

out of harm's way. There, she said, now we can look each other in the eyes and be perfectly honest with one another. If you say so, he croaked miserably back at her, but secretly he was beginning to feel kind of warm and even tingly all over, just like always, in the olden days. Uh oh, he said to himself. Never mind all that, she mock scolded him

and added her wagging finger to the scene for good measure. This time I want the simplicity of truth, no riddles, the absolute truth, or so help me I will never speak to you again and I mean it, she shouted. A couple of laughing birds went tumbling by just then making quite a high blown racket on the sky before he could build bravely up

to his own croak of an answer; get on with it.  Please, don't leave me, he suddenly winced out loud, I have no one to talk to but you, no other frogs speak English in this part of the marshy kingdoms, that I know of. It's lonely out here. It's all your fault, he added, and began to sulk. So. what is it you command of me, Your Royal Highness? That's much better,

she said. We are friends, good friends, aren't we? Yes, he croaked miserably. Well then, she started, it's like this: I've recently met someone, a very nice someone, but he doesn't even know that I exist. Oh, I suppose I've danced with him a dozen times or more, but so has every other girl in the court as far as I can see. At this the little

frog grabbed an invisible arrow from the air's cupboard of his tiny life and mercilessly shoved it deep, deep, deep into his beating sad little heart, but since nothing awful happened immediately he continued to listen to her beautiful, thrilling voice. What am I to do, she went on and on, how am I supposed to get him to notice me

above everyone else? How do I know, he answered, maybe ask him for his name first? Very funny, she said.  You are full of the witch's green magic and I know you know unusual things, so tell me before I go perfectly m-mad and throw you back into the darkening water with all the bad, bad mannered snakes, what am I to do

right now to win his heart for my very own? The little frog sighed, closed his eyes, and went into a stony trance. He began to glow like a railroad lantern. You must first give him a ring of pure silver on his 21st birthday, and it must be decorated with three perfect rubies in a triangle shape, the frog murmured slowly in a trance-like voice, and you

must say these words into his eyes, exactly, now we are one, under the sun, under the moon, one are we forever. That's it, she laughed, but that's so very easy. My father has many rubies to give me and the silversmith is a far, far cousin of mine (on my mother's side). Oh, thank you so much, dear thing. I hope I haven't injured

your warty pride or anything like that too much.  No, thank YOU, Princess, he said, and jumped with all his might from the middle of the now slightly moon speckled boat's interior all the way back into the browning, dark watery well of his own drowning, dreaming, muddy destiny (after muddy destiny), and waited to be suddenly and violently taken under.