March 21 2020 - The Frog Prince

How did a frog get to be associated with a prince?  The story "The Frog Prince" or "The Frog King, or the Iron Henry" is a Brothers Grimm story, and the first in their collection.  It dates from 1810. Wikipedia says that the Grimms treasured this tale, and it has been postulated that part of it may extend back to Roman times. It is also postulated that the particular line in the story is a jab at the emperor Nero who was often mockingly compared to a frog. That seems mild compared to Nero's vices - his rule is associated with tyranny and extravagance, he was considered compulsive and corrupt, he murdered his mother.  He's the one who allowed Rome to burn.  And one article claimed:  He was known to play the part of a bride in mock weddings.   In the original Grimm version of the story, the frog's spell was broken when the princess threw it against the wall, while in modern versions the transformation is triggered by the princess kissing the frog.  In between, the frog was transformed after spending the night on the princess' pillow.  Or 3 nights, depending on versions. Here's the Iron Henry subplot: The frog prince also has a loyal servant named Henry (or Harry) who had three iron bands affixed around his heart to prevent it from breaking in his sadness over his master's curse. When the frog prince transforms into his human form Henry's overwhelming happiness causes all three bands to break, freeing his heart from its bonds. And of course, here's the ending:  "... they lived happily a great many years." I went looking for frog and princess jokes, but they are creepy.  This is an amusing one. Why did the frog say meow? He was learning a foreign language.

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Frogs into Princes

So today we wonder how frogs and princes got associated together.  This wonderful frog was in the pond of a garden we toured in May.   Here's what I found about the frog metaphor from frog-life-cycle.com: In fairy tales and many folklore stories, the frog is one of the main creatures that appear.  Whether the frog is being kissed to turn into a prince or the frog’s eyes are being boiled in a pot and stirred by a witch, there are many different frog myths that are constantly floating around in all sorts of different stories. Long ago in medieval Europe, the frog was something to be attributed to the devil because of their use in many witch spells.  Frogs are definitely not the sign of the devil, they are actually some of the most harmless creatures in the world and are definitely should not be associated with Satan any longer.    Another misconception about frogs is the fact that if you touch one, you will develop warts instantly.  Warts have now been proven to be caused by a human internal viral infection, but way back when, toads and frogs were handled by glove-wearing humans or not handled at all. While frogs have gotten a bad reputation a lot of the time, there are still quite a few countries and cities that hold the frog up high.  For instance, Egyptians take the frog as a symbol of life and fertility since millions of them were born after the inundation of the Nile.  They had many different myths about there being a frog-goddess named Heget (which means frog in Egyptian).  Heget was essentially a woman’s body with a frog’s head and this goddess was highly-respected and sought after, even though she was just a myth. In China, the frog represents the lunar yin.  They have even created a frog spirit, Ch’ing-Wa Sheng, which is associated with healing and good fortune, which is one of the main reasons why you will see a lot of frog relics around businesses and in homes.