The fairy tale, The Frog Prince, or Iron Henry, by the Brothers Grimm, takes place in several settings, including a well, a castle, and a carriage. The main characters are a prince who’s been turned into a frog, a princess, her father, the king, and the prince’s faithful servant, Iron Henry. The problem is that the princess who has agreed to be friends with the frog after he helps her, is having a hard time keeping her promise to him. The story begins when the princess loses her golden ball in the pond. The frog offers to help the princess in return for her friendship, and the princess agrees. But after the princess gets her golden ball, she runs back to the castle without the frog.
Later, the frog appears at the castle, and expects to sit and eat with the princess. She doesn’t like the idea, but her father, the king, says she must keep her promise to the frog. After the meal, the frog asks to sleep next to the princess. The idea repulses the princess, but once again, the king makes his daughter live up to her word. However, when they are up in the princesses room, she is so disgusted with the idea of having the frog sleep in her bed that she violently throws the frog against the bedroom wall. With that, the frog turns into a prince and reveals that he has been under a witch’s spell. In the end, the prince and the princess marry and ride a carriage back to the prince’s kingdom. The carriage is driven by the prince’s servant, Iron Henry, who had bars put around his breaking heart when his master was put under the witch’s spell. The bands break apart because Henry is so happy to have his master return. Henry’s loyalty is quite different from the princess’s selfishness. But eventually the king teaches her how important it is to always keep your word, even when you don’t really want to.
This cache was part of the 2014 Battle Ground Geocoin Challenge. However all geocoins have been handed out - stay tuned for next year!