The Frog Prince
Almost every child in the Western world knows the story of a princess who kisses a frog and the animals transforms into a handsome prince. But how true is this to the fairy tale penned by the famous Brothers Grimm at the start of the 19th century? Not completely is the answer. For, while the original tale did indeed feature a princess, a frog and then, with a dash of magic, a handsome prince, the plot has become much more saccharine over the years.
In the Brothers Grimm version, which itself was based on the classic tale of a king who had once been a frog – a tale which some historians believe can be traced all the way back to Roman times – the princess was hardly a fair maiden. Instead, she was a spoilt brat with a mean temper. And so, instead of kissing the frog she finds, she instead throws it violently against the castle walls. It’s this act of violence that causes the magical transformation, breaking the spell and producing her royal husband-to-be.
The story that opens the first collection of stories compiled by the Brothers Grimm is by no means the only version of this fairy tale. There’s another one, too. In this one, the creepy twist is that the princess needs to sleep with the frog for one night in order to break the spell. Despite being disgusted at the thought of sharing her bed with a reptile, the princess agrees and wakes up next to her prince.