One day, while an elderly woman was washing her feet, a frog jumped out of her ankle. The woman was terribly angry and upset because she unexpectedly gave birth to a frog and not a person. And what a joy it could be that it jumped out of her leg. She wanted to kill the frog.
“Please don’t kill me,” the frog begged, “I will work and repay you for your kindness.”
Despite the fact that the woman did not understand what use the frog could have, she saved his life.
For many days the little frog worked for the old woman: he carried her water, collected brushwood, and prepared food. He repaid the woman a hundredfold for sparing him, and the woman, in turn, was glad that she no longer had to do any work, just eat, sleep and say her daily prayers.
“I worked hard to repay you for your kindness, and now I have a request,” said the frog one day.
- And what do you want from me? - the woman asked.
“Now that I’m older, I want to marry a princess.”
“But you’re a frog, the king will never give you his only daughter.”
But the frog stood his ground and personally went to the palace. Stopping in front of the palace gates, he shouted:
“Your Majesty, please give your daughter to me as my wife.”
“Go away, old toad, I will never give you my daughter as a wife,” the queen got angry.
“Well, okay, if that’s the case, I’m leaving,” said the frog and turned back, but every time he stepped on the ground, the whole palace shook.
The queen prayed for him to stop and promised to do whatever the frog ordered. But when he once again demanded the princess, she again resisted.
“If you don’t keep your word and don’t give me your daughter, I’ll pay,” the frog warned.
-Who cares about your tears? - answered the queen. - Let's cry as much as you want.
The little frog began to cry, and soon the entire palace was drowned in streams of his tears. When the queen asked him to stop and promised to give the princess back, the frog stopped crying and all the water instantly disappeared. Once again the queen did not keep her promise.
“If you don’t give me your daughter, I’ll laugh,” the frog threatened, “but it won’t be an ordinary laugh.”
“Even if you tear your stomach, you won’t get my daughter.”
The little frog laughed briefly, and the palace cracked in half. Despite the fact that the queen cried and begged him to stop laughing, the frog did not stop until both she and the king himself solemnly swore to give him the princess as his wife. The oath was made, and this time they did not break it.
Carrying the princess home and jumping up and down with joy and delight, the frog returned to the old woman’s home and asked her to open the door.
“You can crawl through the crack,” she responded.
- I can, but what to do with the princess?
The old woman opened the door and saw that the frog had indeed brought home his princess wife. When she asked how he managed to convince the king and queen to give up their only daughter, the frog embarrassedly told her that he had to ask many times, and was deceived several times.
“But you know, I’m so young and good-looking that the king and queen eventually gave in and gave me the princess,” the frog completed his story.
With his marriage, he had more things to do. He still worked hard for the old woman, but he also took care of his dear wife. The old woman was happy because the frog did all the work for her, and besides, she now had someone to talk to. The princess was pleased, because the frog was a devoted husband, and the old woman was kind to her. But the frog was the happiest of all, since the princess became his wife.
So they lived and did not grieve, until one day, when the little frog went to get water, a hawk attacked him. Grabbing the frog, the hawk soared into the sky. The little frog called the old woman and his wife for help, but they could not do anything and only looked at the sky and cried about their bitter lot.
“If he sits in this grass, then I’m lucky.” Because there I will meet my father,” the frog croaked under his breath.
Hearing this, the hawk immediately gained altitude and began to look for another place where he could eat the frog. After circling around and not finding anything more suitable, he decided to land on the roof of the house.
- How glad I will be if he sits on this roof. “Finally, I will meet my uncle, whom I have not seen for many years,” the frog said quietly, as if talking to himself.
Hearing this, the hawk was afraid that his uncle would come to the frog’s aid, and he would be left without lunch. Climbing higher and higher into the sky and looking for a suitable place for a meal, he suddenly heard:
- How sad it will be if he decides to eat me on the river bank. I won't be able to see my relatives before I die.
Immediately the hawk glided down and landed near the river. He lowered the frog to the ground and perched on top, deciding to take a little rest after a long flight. The little frog asked the hawk to get off him, saying that he had good advice:
“I know you want to eat me, and you’re ready to face your fate with dignity, but you know, my skin is very tough, so I advise you to sharpen your beak and claws on a stone while I wait for you on the sidelines.”
The hawk thought that the frog was right and went to sharpen his beak. While he was doing this, the frog took it and - plop! — jumped into the water. He swam across the river and, after overcoming many obstacles, returned home - to the joy of the old woman and his dear, dear wife.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru