Al-Prinz

Trickster

One day, the girl and her grandparents went into a heated argument. Harsh words were spoken from both sides; soon, the girl's mother was brought into it. How the girl wished her mother wasn't like those on the streets and hadn't slept with her biological father; how the grandparents said their mother probably didn't even want her in the first place. Despite her previous remarks about her own mother, when her grandmother said that her mother didn't even want her, the girl felt a sharp pain in her chest. There was silence as tears welled up in her eyes and she ran back to her pond.

The girl's vision was blurry and she still had some pent of anger, so it took longer than usual to get to the frog's pond. When she did, Al-Prinz leaped out and started to greet her; however, the frog stopped when he saw her tear-stained face and the angry look on her face. The girl had broken down and switched between angry groans and loud sobs. Al-Prinz allowed the girl to let it all out. While she cried, Al-Prinz decorated the girl's hair with various flowers around the pond. Most were weeds, but they still looked attractive in the girl's hair.

"Don't cry. Pretty girls shouldn't cry," the frog croaked. His webbed hands touched her cheeks "Sweet girl, dry those lovely eyes for me." The girl felt that Al-Prinz was starting to agitate, for some reason she didn't know. Al-Prinz was starting to croak loudly and made it impossible for the girl to think. She noticed that the frog was acting differently than how he usually was. It scared her, despite him being such a small creature.

Still, she cleaned her tears and thanked the frog for being beside her despite how angry she had seemed to make him. However, Al-Prinz said he wasn't mad at all; which the girl could see was a complete lie, but decided not to press the frog on it. The two were silent for a while until the frog asked if it would be okay for him to live in her grandparents' cottage.

The girl refused, saying that it was theirs and not actually hers. The frog rebutted saying that, technically, since she's close to coming of age, the cottage is in reality hers. They went back in forth in the argument until the girl had gotten tired of this second argument. She left quickly after that, not wanting to be around any of the people or frog that had gotten her so heated up in an argument. Al-Prinz, however, followed her close behind.

The girl silently went inside her grandparents' cottage and slowly into her room. Al-Prinz stood outside in a window still and started the croak loudly. The grandparents of the girl look and saw the frog and decided to let it in. Maybe it was curious about the place inside; or better yet, it was a good spirit that could give them luck! Once inside, the frog hopped around and started to make himself at home. The grandparents allowed the frog to go and do as it pleased since they figured it was a blessing from the nature spirits.

The frog made his way around the entire cottage by the time the girl had noticed he was there. She wanted to get mad at him, but she knew that she did allow him, not only to come inside but also to live there. The girl didn't mind the frog's company, though, so she knew it was pointless to even be mad. Still, a part of her still was.

A few days passed and the fights between the girl and her grandparents lessened. The grandparents figured it was because of the good luck of the frog, who they noticed was still around in their house. In truth, it was because of the frog but not in the way that they thought. Al-Prinz told the girl that there might be a way to break the spell that put him as a frog and revert him back into the dashing prince he once was. This gave the girl hope that maybe, just maybe, she'll be able to leave the small cottage anyway, and her grandparents wouldn't be able to do anything about it, since it was her future with this frog-prince, and not theirs.

Al-Prinz went up to the girl one day and said that he found the answer; all he needs to do is kiss someone who truly loves him, for the spell was put upon him for being a selfish and handsome prince. The girl then said, "Well, that's fantastic! Who would be the one to kiss you, though?" Al-Prinz looked up at the girl with his beady little eyes and quietly croaked 'you'.

Without thinking, the girl did exactly what the frog had asked of her the first time they meet. She kissed him and...nothing has seemed to happen. The girl was confused and kissed the frog again, thinking maybe something had gone wrong. Still, nothing had happened. The girl asked the frog why nothing was happening when Al-Prinz started croaking again, but in a lighter tune, almost like laughter.

"Silly girl", the frog said. "Did you really believe I was a prince of some kind? There are no other kingdoms besides your own for miles, and they already have a completed royal family; what other kingdom would I govern, especially if I was away from it so long as a frog!" The girl then asked how was it possible for Al-Prinz to talk. He gave another light tuned croak. "Because I can! No magic, no spells; it is something that I can do that, sadly, not many of my kind can."

The girl was hurt and angry, but more than anything, disgusted that she kissed such a foul creature and a cunning trickster. All of his hear-felt words and gifts were nothing but a means to get him closer to her. Without another second, she got a nearby jar and quickly trapped Al-Prinz inside of it. He was pleading to be lead out, but it fell on deaf ears. She walked out of the farm and into the nearby village a few miles away. Once there, she tried to find someone to sell the frog too. By now, Al-Prinz started croaking instead of talking due to the large crowds. She soon found a buyer for the frog from a young boy about her again that needed to find something that his mother can cook.

By now, the frog tried to start talking, but his voice was drowned out by the other voices in the village square. Before parting, though, the girl gave Al-Prinz one of the most hateful looks one could ever receive and thanked the boy for taking the frog off of her hands and offered to help catch more frogs, so it would be a feast of frogs.

That night, the girl and her grandparents were invited to dinner with the boy and his family and ate a round of frog legs.

This is the end of the story Al-Prinz.

~o0o~