Earlier today, The Attorney and I were discussing my writing and he challenged me to write something for him. I don’t do poetry or anything like that so I thought I’d write him a story. I wanted to him be able to take it back home with him, so it had to be something short. His encounter with my friend’s niece a few weeks ago, prompted me to try my hand at a children’s story. It’s just a couple of hours work, so don’t judge too harshly, please.
The Prince Who Loved A Frog
Once there was a prince named JD.
Like most princes, Prince JD was tall and handsome and charming.
He was as charming as any prince could be.
He was also a friendly and good prince.
Everywhere he went, the people of the kingdom would shout, “Look there’s Prince JD. Hello, Prince JD!”
“Why, hello to you, too,” Prince JD would shout back, waving.
One day, while he was exploring the land, Prince JD happened up on a frog who was headed to the creek for a swim.
“Hello there!” Prince JD shouted, beaming his large smile.
The Frog looked around and from side to side, to see whom the Prince was addressing.
“Princes don’t speak to frogs,” he thought to himself.
But, Prince JD was speaking to the Frog.
And he did again.
“You there…Hello!”
The Frog, who was very shy, retreated a few steps into some tall grass and quietly croaked a hello.
Prince JD was fascinated by the sound.
“You have a very deep voice,” he said to the Frog.
“Frogs do,” the Frog said in reply.
“You’re a Frog?”
The Frog confirmed that he was.
“I am a prince,” JD responded.
The Frog could tell.
Prince JD knelt down, parting the tall grass to get a better look. ”I thought Frogs were supposed to be funny looking. You don’t look funny to me at all.”
The Frog thanked him for his kindness and started on his way.
“Wait. Don’t go,” the Prince begged. “I want to know more about you.”
“You do?” asked the puzzled Frog.
“Yes,” said the Prince. “I’ve never met a Frog before. Tell me, what do Frogs like to do?”
“Well,” the Frog thought, “I like jumping.”
He demonstrated with a great leap.
“That looks like fun,” Prince JD said, before bending his longs legs and jumping into the air himself.
The Frog was impressed.
“Very good. You jump very high for a Prince.”
The Prince was so proud that he jumped again and The Frog leapt with applause.
Soon the Prince and the Frog were leaping around the village and having such fun that the Frog had almost forgotten that he had been on his way to the creek for a swim.
When Prince JD found out, he exclaimed, “I love to swim! I swim every day in the Royal Pond.”
The Frog thought how wonderful it would be to swim in a place like the Royal Pond.
“How would you like to go swimming there right now?” the Prince asked. ”We now have two things that we both enjoy!”
So, off they went, Prince JD and the Frog, jumping and leaping all the way to the Royal Pond where they whiled away the afternoon, racing, splashing, and laughing.
From that day forward Prince JD and the Frog were the best of friends.
Besides swimming, they played games, shared books, and spent evenings watching the moon.
People almost never saw one without the other.
But instead of waving hello to the Prince, people would now point and make fun.
“Look! There goes Prince JD with that Frog friend of his,” they would say. ”Who ever heard of a Prince with a Frog for a friend?”
The Frog was used to being made fun of. Frogs always are. But it made him feel bad to have Prince JD made fun of because of him.
One day, they were laying in the grass after a long swim, looking up at the clouds.
“That one looks like a frog,” Prince JD said, pointing at a fluffy clump.
“It looks like a prince to me,” the Frog argued back.
“Maybe it’s frog who is a prince.”
That gave the Frog an idea. He told Prince JD to kiss him.
“What?”
“Kiss me.”
The Prince did not hesitate a moment and leaned down to kiss The Frog.
It made the Frog tingle. He tingled so much that he was sure he felt it having an effect.
But, when they separated, the Frog only felt disappointment. He sighed and sank deep into the grass.
“It didn’t work. I’m still a frog.”
“Of course you’re a frog,” the Prince said. “What else would you be?”
The Frog went on to explain that he once heard a story about a princess whose kiss turned a frog into a handsome prince and they lived happily every after.
“I thought maybe it worked with princes, too.”
“I’m glad it didn’t work,” Prince JD said.
“Really?” asked the Frog in disbelief.
“Really,” Prince JD answered. “Because then you wouldn’t be you.”
Even though a kiss couldn’t change a thing between them, it was another thing they both enjoyed.
So, they kissed again.
And again.
And they lived happily ever after.
THE END.
I printed it out and told him not to read it until he gets home. So, at the time of this posting, I have no idea yet what he thinks.
