"The Frog Prince; or, Iron Henry" (German:Der Froschkönig oder der eiserne Heinrich, literally "The Frog King or the Iron Henry") is a Germanfairy tale collected by theBrothers Grimm and published in 1812 inGrimm's Fairy Tales (KHM 1). Traditionally, it is the first story in their folktale collection. The tale is classified asAarne-Thompson type 440.[1]
"The Frog Prince" can be compared to the similar eastern European fairy tale "The Frog Princess".
The story is best known through the rendition of theBrothers Grimm, who published it in their 1812 edition ofKinder- und Hausmärchen (Grimm's Fairy Tales), as tale no. 1.[1] An older, moralistic version was included in the Grimms' handwritten Ölenberg Manuscript from 1810.Jack Zipes noted in 2016 that the Grimms greatly treasured this tale, considering it to be one of the "oldest and most beautiful in German-speaking regions."[2]
The Grimms' source is unclear, but apparently comes from an oral tradition of Dortchen Wild's family inKassel.[1] The volume 2 of the first edition ofKinder- und Hausmärchen, published in 1815, included a variation of this story entitledDer Froschprinz (The Frog Prince), published as tale no. 13. As this version was not included in later editions, it has since remained relatively unknown.[1]
It has been postulated by some scholars that parts of the tale may extend back until at least Roman times; an aspect of the story is referred to inPetronius'Satyricon, in which the characterTrimalchio remarks, "qui fuit rana nunc est rex" ("The man who was once a frog is now a king").[3] Other scholars, however, argue that this may actually be a jab at the emperorNero, who was often mockingly compared to a frog.[4]
FolkloristStith Thompson suggested that the story of the Frog King in the German tradition began with a 13th-century literary tale written in Latin.[5]
In the forest, a selfish princess accidentally drops her golden ball into a well. A frog offers to retrieve it in exchange for her friendship. She agrees but goes back on her word after getting the ball back and runs to her castle. The next day, she is eating with her father when the frog knocks on the door and requests to be let in. The king tells his daughter that she must keepher promise, and she reluctantly obeys. The frog sits next to her and eats from her plate, then desires to sleep in the princess's bed. She is disgusted at the idea of sleeping with the frog, but her father angrily chastises her for loathing someone who helped her in a time of need. She picks up the frog and places him in the corner of her bedroom, but he hops up to her bed and demands to sleep as comfortably as the princess. Furious, she throws the frog against the wall, but as he falls to the floor he has transformed into a handsome prince. He explains that he was cursed by a wicked witch and the spell could only be broken with the princess's help. The next day, the two go to the prince's kingdom where they will be married.
In modern versions, the transformation is triggered by the princess kissing the frog (a motif that apparently first appeared in English translations).[6] In other early versions, it was sufficient for the frog to sleep for three nights on the princess' pillow.[7]
The frog prince also has a loyal servant named Henry (or Heinrich) who had three iron bands affixed around his heart to prevent it from breaking from sadness when his master was cursed. When the frog prince reverts to his human form, Henry's overwhelming happiness causes the bands to break, freeing his heart from its bonds.[8]
It isAarne–Thompson type 440.[9] According to German folkloristHans-Jörg Uther, variants are registered across Europe.[10] In addition, scholarsLutz Röhrich,Waldemar Liungman, andJurjen van der Kooi noted that, apart from some isolated attestations in the southern part of the continent and in Eastern Europe, variants of the tale were collected in the northern part of Europe, comprising a sort of "core area": Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Belgium and Netherlands, extending to Ireland and Great Britain.[11][12][13]
However, Röhrich and van der Kooi remarked that the variants collected from oral tradition, even in America, clearly go back to a European original, and Uther argues that they are dependent on the Grimm's tale.[11][10][14] That argument does not take into account the Scottish version of the story found referenced in the 16th century Scottish text "Complaynt of Scotland". (See Opie and Opie "The Classic Fairy Tales" (1974) p. 183.)
Other folktales similar to "The Frog Prince" are:[15]
"The Frog Prince". The first English translation of the above tale.Edgar Taylor, the translator, not only changed the title, but altered the ending in a substantial and interesting manner.[16]
"The Wonderful Frog" (W. Henry Jones and Lewis L. Kropf, Hungary).[17]
"The Maiden and the Frog" (James Orchard Halliwell-Phillipps, England).
"Oda und die Schlange" (Oda and the Snake) (Ludwig Bechstein, Germany) – a variant where a serpent replaces the frog[18]
"The Kind Stepdaughter and the Frog" (W. Henry Jones and Lewis L. Kropf, England).
"The Frog Prince" (H. Parker, Sri Lanka).
"A Frog for a Husband" (William Elliot Griffis, Korea).
"The Toad Bridegroom" (Zong In-Sob, Korea).
A similar tale type isATU 402, "The Animal Bride". In these tales, a female animal (mouse,cat orfrog) helps a prince with three tasks and after marrying him, assumes human form. InPuddocky (old word fortoad), another German folk tale, and likewise "Tsarevna Lyagushka" (The Frog Princess), a Russian folk tale, the male and female roles of the frog prince are reversed. Prince Ivan Tsarevitch discovers the enchanted female frog, who becomes Vasilisa the Wise, a sorceress.
In aLatvian tale,Little White Dog, a girl is tasked with getting water from a well without getting the bucket wet. A little white dog appears and promises to help her if she accepts him as her bridegroom.[19]
A possible parallel inAntiquity may be found in the story ofAmymone, who was one of theDanaides. She went to fetch water in a jug because of a drought season caused by the gods. Asatyr tried to force himself on her, but the godPoseidon rescued her. It has been suggested that the amphibian suitor and the handsome prince may have been separate characters at first.[20]
Stevie Smith's poem "The Frog Prince" (1966) suggests the thoughts of the prince as he waits for disenchantment.[21]
Anne Sexton wrote an adaptation as a poem called "The Frog Prince" in her collectionTransformations (1971), a book in which she re-envisions sixteen of the Grimms' fairy tales.[22]
Robin McKinley's 1981 collection of short storiesThe Door in the Hedge contains a version of the tale, entitled "The Princess and the Frog".
Linda Medley's graphic novelCastle Waiting from 1996 contains a character named Iron Henry or Iron Heinrich, who has 3 iron bands around his heart to repair the heartbreak he suffered when his son died of a fearful curse.
French graphic novelGarulfo (1992–2002) is a fairy tale about a frog who asks a witch to transform him into a prince - so that he can live life at the top of the food chain.
Bill Willingham's graphic novel seriesFables features manyfairytale characters living as refugees inNew York, including "Flycatcher" the former Frog Prince, now a janitor and errand boy.
Adelheid Wette based her 1896 play on "The Frog Prince", although she called it "The Frog King".
Margarete Schweikert based her 1913 children's operetta "The Frog King" on the Grimm Brothers' fairytale "The Frog Prince".
A musical version ofThe Frog Prince, written by Dieter Stegmann and Alexander S. Bermange, was presented at the Amphitheater Park Schloss Philippsruhe in Hanau, Germany as part of the Brothers Grimm Festival in 2005.[citation needed]
A chamber opera for children based uponThe Frog Prince, written by Jacob A. Greenberg for Brown Opera Productions and the Providence Athenaeum, was performed in 2008.[24]
The Children's Theatre of Cincinnati's Script Development Division adapted the one-act musicalPrincess & Frog in 2020. The stage musical is adapted from the full-length musicalCroaker written by Jason Marks and Debra Clinton.
The English alternative rock bandKeane released a song titled "The Frog Prince" within their 2004 UK number-one albumUnder The Iron Sea.
Prince Charming is a 2001 film adaptation of the fairy tale, starringMartin Short,Christina Applegate andSean Maguire as the title character. The prince is cursed to remain a frog until a maiden breaks his spell, giving him extreme longevity and allowing for the modern setting of the film.
InShrek 2, Fiona's father King Harold is secretly the frog prince. However, unlike the fairy tale where the princess meets him as a frog and her actions make him human, he becomes human through a deal with the Fairy Godmother.
The Princess and the Frog is a 2009Disney animated film loosely inspired by the 2002 novelThe Frog Princess byE. D. Baker. The Frog Prince story itself appears in the film, being read to the film's protagonist,Tiana, as a child and motivating the prince-turned-frog Naveen to ask Tiana to kiss him to break the spell. However, the kiss turns her into a frog as well.
"The Frog Prince" was one of the fairy tales featured inGrimm's Fairy Tale Classics in itsGrimm Masterpiece Theater season (1987). In the English version, the princess is named Leonora, her two older sisters are Agatha and Martha, and her father is King Bartholomew.
In the second episode ofAdventures from the Book of Virtues (1996), Plato the Bison and Annie try to convince their friend Zach to tell his father the truth by telling him three stories, including one about "The Frog Prince". In this version, the title character was transformed into a frog for lying to awitch and breaking his promise. He is voiced byJeff Bennett while the princess is voiced byPaige O'Hara.
In the German cartoonSimsala Grimm, the episode is titled "The Frog King" in season 1. In this version, the princess is named Matilda and her love interest is Prince Edward. Unlike other versions, where the princess angrily slams the frog into a wall, killing him, Princess Matilda slams the frog into a wall, causing him to feel dizzy and making her apologize to him.
The tale was adapted forGerman television as one of the episodes of fairy tale seriesSechs auf einen Streich ("Six at one Blow") in the 2008 season.
In the gameJust Dance 2015, the routine forLove Is All is inspired by this fairy tale, the frog (P2, C1) starts out as a little statue on the fountain. As the song starts, the frog comes to life and grows up. Towards the end of the routine, the princess (P1) kisses the frog and it turns into a prince.
A version of The Frog Prince, Prince Gerard, is a main character in theNeverafter season of the tabletop role-playing game showDimension 20. He is played byBrian K. Murphy.
^Zipes, Jack. (2016).The Original Folk and Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm: The complete first edition. Princeton: Princeton University Press. p. 479.ISBN978-0691173221.
^abUther, Hans-Jörg (2004).The Types of International Folktales: A Classification and Bibliography, Based on the System of Antti Aarne and Stith Thompson. Suomalainen Tiedeakatemia, Academia Scientiarum Fennica. p. 262.ISBN978-951-41-0963-8.
^abRöhrich, Lutz. "Froschkönig (AaTh 440)" [Frog King (ATU 440)].Enzyklopädie des Märchens Online. Edited by Rolf Wilhelm Brednich, Heidrun Alzheimer, Hermann Bausinger, Wolfgang Brückner, Daniel Drascek, Helge Gerndt, Ines Köhler-Zülch, Klaus Roth and Hans-Jörg Uther. Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, 2016 [1987]. p. 413.https://doi.org/10.1515/emo.5.058. Accessed 2023-08-26.
^Kooi, Jurjen van der. "De kikkerkoning". In:Van Aladdin tot Zwaan kleef aan. Lexicon van sprookjes: ontstaan, ontwikkeling, variaties. 1ste druk. Ton Dekker &Jurjen van der Kooi & Theo Meder. Kritak: Sun. 1997. p. 182.
^Liungman, Waldemar (2022) [1961].Die Schwedischen Volksmärchen: Herkunft und Geschichte. Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter. p. 102.doi:10.1515/9783112618004-004.
^Kooi, Jujen van der. "De kikkerkoning". In:Van Aladdin tot Zwaan kleef aan. Lexicon van sprookjes: ontstaan, ontwikkeling, variaties. 1ste druk. Ton Dekker &Jurjen van der Kooi & Theo Meder. Kritak: Sun. 1997. p. 182.
Livo, Norma J. (1976). "Variations on a Theme: Frogs".Language Arts.53 (2):193–212.JSTOR41404128.
Massey, Irving (1983). "The Effortless in Art and Ethics: Meditations on 'The Frog King, or Iron Henry'".The Georgia Review.37 (3):640–658.JSTOR41398572.
Pettman, Dominic (2017). "Animal Bride and Horny Toads".Creaturely Love: How Desire Makes Us More and Less Than Human. U of Minnesota Press. pp. 66–72.ISBN978-1-4529-5380-9.JSTOR10.5749/j.ctt1n2ttdv.15.
Siegel, David M.; McDaniel, Susan H. (1991). "The Frog Prince: Tale and toxicology".American Journal of Orthopsychiatry.61 (4):558–562.doi:10.1037/h0079283.PMID1746631.
Notes: "Literary" indicates tale whose origin is traceable to a literary source with a known author;p indicates a previous tale type extant until 2004. "AaTh" refers to theAarne–Thompson–Uther Index pre-2004; "ATU" refers to the system post-2004.
Works related toThe Frog Prince at Wikisource
