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Once upon a time, in a far-off land, there was a kingdom ruled by a king with one daughter. This daughter, the princess, was as beautiful as the dawn and so clever and charming that anyone who met her wished for nothing more than to talk with her for hours.
The king was very pleased with his daughter and, as she was his only child, he spared no expense in having her educated. The princess was instructed by the finest tutors on the arts of etiquette, diplomacy, history, geography, and anything else that would possibly be to her benefit when the time came for her to take the throne as queen. This went on until the princess was a young woman and her tutors told her father that they were most satisfied with her progress and that there was nothing more they could teach her. The king beamed at this news and congratulated his daughter on her accomplishments, but an uneasy question lingered in the air:
What next?
In such times and places, there was an unspoken rule that when a princess had completed all of her lessons and become as accomplished as she possibly could, it was time for her to take the throne and become queen in some manner or another. But alas, in this instance there seemed no easy way for that to happen! While the king was pleased at the thought of his daughter one day ruling the kingdom, he currently was hale, healthy, and not planning to end his rule so soon. The other way would have been for the princess to wed into the royal family of a nearby kingdom. The princess had no objections to the idea, but alas when the king called for the court's matchmaker to seek out suitable prospects, it seemed there was not a single unmarried king or prince to be found! Even the list of potential kings to be – fishermen, woodcutters, merchants, or any other common-born daring young men, often the deserving youngest of three sons – came up short. It seemed anyone worth having was currently on some quest or another.
The king was most displeased to hear this and complained about the uselessness of the matchmaker. The matchmaker was most apologetic, but it could not be helped. It was unfortunately the dry season for suitable unwed royalty. Perhaps in another year or so, more would turn up.
The princess thanked the matchmaker for her troubles, but privately was dismayed. She was a practical woman and knew these things could not be rushed, but for the foreseeable future she foresaw a long period of time she did not know how to fill. When one is a queen, the calendar is filled with functions to host and charities to promote and diplomatic talks to hold and affairs of state to resolve, as well as one's family to see to. When one is a princess, most of the time is filled with lessons in preparation for queendom. This meant that until the time came when the princess became a queen, she would need to find some other method of occupying her time.
Fortunately, she was, as was said, a practical woman and quickly decided on a course of action: she would take up a trade. It would be, she told her father, a productive way to pass the time, and perhaps whatever craft she learned would be of use when the time came for her to become a queen. The king agreed with this logic and gave his blessing for the endeavor, but on the sole condition that whatever trade she chose, the princess learn it in discretion lest there be a to-do among the common folk over their princess walking among them every day for such a thing.
The princess agreed with the stipulation readily (she knew a ruckus would only hinder her learning) and so she quietly purchased a plain linen gown and shoes, the kind of which any woman in the market might wear. With those and a cloth from the kitchens covering her hair, she set off to find a master to learn from.
The princess walked around the market town taking in the sights and the sounds, the clucking of the chickens, the cries of the merchants, the smell of baking bread, and the cries of children. Before long, she came upon a stall at which hung countless quilts and embroidered cloths. A young girl darted this way and that, accepting payments and making suggestions to customers. The princess was impressed by the beauty of the quilts and so, when the crowd at the stall had dispersed, she approached the girl.
“
Good day, ma'am!” cried the girl. “Did you wish to purchase one of our fine quilts? Or if not that, perhaps an embroidered carpet?”
“
Neither, thank you,” said the princess. “I wished only to ask, who weaves and embroiders this cloth? Surely you do not have the time to do so and run this stall all day!”
“
Indeed not,” said the girl. “My dear granny, may God love her, has such skill with needles and looms that one would think her fingers were enchanted!”
“
And she truly created all of this?”
“
Well, not all, ma'am. Even she is not so skilled as to manage
that
. But over time, she saved enough to afford materials to have twelve others help her work all day, while I sell what they made the day before. But do not worry,” she added, perhaps imagining some look of concern from the princess. “Even if something here was not made by my granny herself, it's just as good. Granny teaches each of the girls the craft with such care, by the time their apprenticeship is up their skill is nearly indistinguishable.”
Ah, this caught the princess's interest! “As it would be, I have been searching for some time for a craft to learn. I am a humble traveler from afar, and I wish to enter an apprenticeship to learn a skill with which to survive. Would your dear granny take me in?”
The girl's smile, if possible, became even larger. “If you would go in the house yonder -” she pointed to the building behind her, its door halfway open, “- you may ask her yourself. I would introduce you, but I must mind the stall. But do ask!”
The princess did and the old woman agreed and so the princess began to learn the art of threads and cloth. She was somewhat discouraged at first, for the other women knew so much and she knew so little. The needles pricked her fingers and her hands became sore, but she never complained. Her new master was kind and an excellent teacher, and soon the princess pricked her fingers less and less and her hands, stronger than ever before, did a full day's work without complaint.
And so things passed in this way and that for three years. In that time, the princess became more and more accomplished that in the little spare time there was, her master taught her the complex art of weaving tapestries – not that there was much call for that though, not in the marketplace, the old woman said. Noblemen and royalty would commission grand masters from bustling cities to make their tapestries, if there was need. They never looked to old women such as her. Still, it pleased her to teach such a skilled pupil the craft, and she was delighted to see that the princess took to it with as much vigor as she did the rest of her lessons.
The princess greatly enjoyed her lessons and thought that if she spent her days in this field until she became queen, she would be quite happy. Alas, that was not to be! Before her fourth year began, the princess was taken aside by her master.
“
My dear,” said she, “I know you are the princess. No, do not deny it. My eyes may be old, but I when I smelled the fine fragrances you wear and felt the softness of your fingers for the first time, I knew it must be so. I am truly impressed by your work, my dear, but I can no longer keep you on. I have taught you all that I can and were you any other woman, I would offer you employment here. But to work here is to give your entire heart to the craft, and you will one day be queen. That is a craft unto itself, and I would never have you divide your heart in such a way. No, better to end it here and say our farewells.”
The princess was saddened to hear this, but she understood the truth in the old woman's words. She tearfully embraced her master in gratitude, bade farewell to the maidens she had worked alongside for the past three years, and set off.
From her father's grumbling, she learned that there was no more success finding her a suitor in those three years than there had been when she first took up a craft. It seemed as if that would not be changing any time soon, and so she decided there was no harm in studying a second craft in the meantime. And so once more she walked the castle town, taking in all that she passed. This time, she circled the town twice before she found a stall that caught her eye.
This stall was run by a goldsmith whose wares shone like the sun and were so vibrant that the princess hardly dared touch them, for fear of dulling their beauty. The goldsmith herself was busy at work, carving a wax mold to cast some piece of jewelry or another.
“
Good day, Madam Smith,” said the princess. And then, when the smith did not notice her greeting, “Good day, Madam Smith!”
The smith looked up after the princess raised her voice. “Good morning, Miss,” she said. “Was there something that caught your eye?”
“
Not exactly,” said the princess.
“
Ah,” said the smith, turning her eyes back to her work. “Well then, if it's a commission you're after -”
“
Oh no, not that either.”
“
What, then?”
“
Madame Smith, I have come to the marketplace in search of a trade I may study. Your beautiful creations have caught my eye and entranced me. Please, will you take me as your pupil?”
“
Hm.” The smith looked back at the wax mold and scraped at it several times. “Why?”
“
I beg your pardon?”
“
Many people are pleased by my work. Most are satisfied with simply purchasing it so they may gaze on it as often as they like. If everyone who was entranced by what I made became my apprentice, I would spend all my hours instructing pupils and have no time to actually work. So,” said the smith, setting her knife and wax mold back on the table, “why do you ask me to teach you?”
The princess felt the need to draw herself tall, though she already stood and the smith sat. “I wish to learn,” she said. “While I wait to reach a moment in my life that I've been told is the next important point for me, I want nothing more than to see and feel and educate myself in whatever I can.”
There was a moment as the smith seemed to think this over. Then, “Hold out your hands,” she said. Her eyebrows raised when the princess obeyed. “Your pretty hands would not be used to the hard work I do. Would you risk scarring and blistering your skin?”
“
I will do whatever you ask of me,” said the princess, who grew more and more determined to apprentice herself to this craft, the more the smith tried to deter her.
The smith fell silent for so long, the princess wondered if she was being dismissed. And then...
“
There is a spare room you may use,” she said, turning back to the mold. “Our day will begin at dawn. I will assign you your duties then. Now, leave me to my work.”
And so it began.
The smith had not been exaggerating, the princess quickly learned. She quickly found herself exhausted, sooty, and sore as she stoked fires, gathered materials, and poured melted metals into casts. In her last apprenticeship, the princess had been tired, but took to the lessons well. Now, she found herself making more mistakes than she ever dreamed possible. The smith was not a gentle instructor, and each error was followed with a brisk reprimand and a demonstration of the proper techniques.
Despite all of this, the princess did not regret her decision. Each burn she took became a badge of pride, as she adventured into such an unknown territory. She did her best not to let her mistakes discourage her, as she knew it was the only way for her to learn. She went to bed each night exhausted, but curious as to what she would learn come dawn.
And so life for the princess went on as such, and three more years passed.
As the third year drew to a close, the princess was taken aside by the smith. “You have done very well for yourself,” she said. “I know I have not given you pretty words during your apprenticeship, as you were here to learn, not be complimented, but I was never disappointed.”
The princess bowed her head respectfully and thanked the smith for such kindness.
“
Sadly, all things must end eventually, and now it is time for us to say our farewells,” the smith continued. “No, do not say a thing, Princess. Of course I know it is you. Did you think I would not recognize your slender fingers, for which I have been hired to cast rings for? I saw no need to reveal your identity, but now it is time to bring your apprenticeship to a close.”
“
Because I would not have the time to devote the rest of my life to the craft, after I become queen?” asked the princess, recalling how her last apprenticeship ended.
“
Yes, that is so. And Princess, I mean no rudeness when I say that I do not believe metalsmithing is a craft fit for your heart. You have given all the strength and energy I have asked of you and you have learned much – dare I say, even more than a great many smiths in this land – but whatever craft you kept until your dying days should be that resonates in the depth of your heart. Would you give yourself to something that you felt any less for?
The princess could not disagree with this, and so she gathered her possessions, said her goodbyes to the smith, and returned to the castle. Her father gave her a warm welcome, but she could tell by his weary expression that she was little closer to queendom than she had been three years ago.
It seemed pointless to state all of this, and so she simply requested leave to study another craft. No sooner asked than granted, and the next morning she set out to search the marketplace.
The princess circled the marketplace three times, carefully looking at every stall and merchant for some indication of what she might take up as her next craft. Alas, not a single thing caught her attention! She felt tired and restless, wanting only to find something to which she could devote herself.
By the time she had gone around the marketplace for the third time, the sun was setting. The princess was beginning to think that she ought to return to the castle and try again the next day when something hopped in front of her, hitting the ground with a wet
thump
!
“
Oh!” gasped the princess, stopping short to avoid stepping on it.
Sitting in her path was a large, fat toad. For a moment, it simply sat in the one spot as if that particular place on the road was its personal property. Then, it gracelessly waddled around so that it was facing the princess.
“
I beg your pardon,” she said. She was not sure what she ought to apologize for, but the toad had a severe look that brought to mind several of her childhood tutors. The thought made her wonder what might come of apprenticing herself to a toad. Would she be taught the best ways to hop, to sit in a puddle, to croak balefully at all who passed by?
Her thoughts were interrupted as the toad hopped off the road, down a side street. The princess followed, wanting to prolong the most interesting thing that happened to her all day, and as she turned a corner, she gasped. Tucked just out of sight from the marketplace was the most beautiful little garden she had ever seen!
There was a little pool with water flowers and lily pads drifting lazily through the reflections of the stars above and several trees and bushes with lush leaves. The flowers were like none the princess had ever seen before – each was in full bloom and somehow seemed to glimmer like diamonds in the darkness. The princess had never seen such a garden before, and was so overwhelmed that it took her a minute to realize she was not the only visitor.
There was a woman sitting by the pond, her feet (and the end of her dress) dipped into the water. She was a short, stout woman, and even in the darkness, the princess could tell her skin was leathery and sprinkled with warts. Her hair was piled on her head in a bun and her eyes, which were fixed on the princess, were dark and narrowed, giving her an air of severity that did not match well with her round face.
“
Excuse me,” said the princess, nodding her head politely. “Is this lovely garden yours? I have never had the honor of seeing it before.”
“
That does not surprise me,” said the woman, her voice deep and hoarse. “I do not allow just anyone inside. I have been watching you for some time though, Princess – really, are you that surprised I know? – and I have taken a liking to you. If you would consent to serve under my tutelage, I can see you through to the end of your frustrating time.”
“
O-oh,” said the princess, uncertain of what to make of this all. “I would certainly love to serve as your apprentice, madame. If I may though, what craft do you do?”
“
Not so much a craft as a service,” she said. There was a splash of water and squelch of mud as she lumbered to her feet, evidently not noticing or caring what state her dress, stockings, and shoes were in. “And before we begin, I just will need you to do one thing to prove you're the right material for me to work with. Dance.”
The princess blinked. “Here?”
“
Where else?”
“
I... certainly, but what kind of -”
“
Don't care. Just imagine some music in your head and do it.”
The princess was somewhat put off by the woman's curt demeanor, but she obliged. It was a simple test for her to pass, for dancing was a skill that she was most certainly talented in. Humming one of her favorite songs, the princess stepped smartly this way and that, picking up speed, twirling, and finally giving a graceful leap through the air and landing so skillfully that the mud beneath her feet hardly was disturbed.
Throughout the dance, the woman watched without comment. After the princess had finished though, she nodded thoughtfully. “Yes, yes, you'll do quite well. And just in time! It's just the right season for this. Princess, your father would not protest if you left the castle for some time to travel with me, would he?”
“
Not at all. He knows I will be away to learn a new craft.”
“
Very good. I do not expect this to take long, but you never know. I wouldn't want to send the land into some uproar because they thought a wicked magician or monster stole away their princess. Now, take my hand and you will begin your time in my service.”
The princess felt slight misgivings as the woman held out a fleshy hand, but she was also very curious and excited. She was determined to find out what there was to learn working for this woman. And so she took the proffered hand and shook.
A mist began to swirl around the two, growing thicker and thicker until the princess couldn't see the woman or the garden. It was so chilled, the princess's skin went numb. She felt dizzy and knelt to the ground, feeling as if she was curling against herself tighter and tighter and tighter...
At last the mists dispersed and the princess could feel her skin once more. The dizziness remained, and she could somehow not rise to her feet. She lurched towards the pond and peered into the water. What she saw may have terrified her once upon a time, but with how odd everything had felt since she entered the garden, this development somehow made sense.
The princess had changed into a toad.
“
You make a fine amphibian,” said the woman. The once-princess turned and was not even surprised to now see a toad at least twice her size – a rather familiar marketplace toad, she realized – staring down at her.
“
Are
you going to teach me the best ways to hop and sit in ponds?” the once-princess asked.
The larger toad sniffed. “Don't be ridiculous. You'll be doing actual work, not pleasure. Follow me and don't dwaddle. You can call me Mama Krote and will stay with the other girls.”
The larger toad hopped to a rock and, with a powerful shove, rolled it aside to reveal a dank hole. The once-princess hopped after (it took several attempts to become accustomed to) and set off to make the most of this bizarre new apprenticeship she found herself in.
The life of a toad, the once-princess found, was not at all what she was expecting. Mama Krote lived in a series of underground tunnels, where she kept the once-princess and countless other smaller toads busy with a variety of tasks. There were tiny looms and needles and thread, with which they sewed dresses of every color of the rainbow, some as golden as the sun, some as silver as the moon, and some as shining as the stars. There were tiny little dogs brought in (Mama Krote would not say where she found them), and some of the toads trained them to do the prettiest tricks imaginable. One day, Mama Krote brought the once-princess to a little furnace, with all the tools and supplies she needed for simple metalwork. Though the once-princess lacked the skill to make anything nearly as impressive as her former teacher did, she was able to make a set of beautiful wedding rings. As she watched them cool, she thought of the lessons she once had and the people she once took instruction from, and she felt a little lonely. She did not know why she or the other toads made their creations for. Sometimes Mama Krote would have them store the things they made in tiny walnuts, which she piled in a storeroom like a squirrel preparing for winter. Just as often though, they were left to do as they wished with what made. As best the once-princess could guess, Mama Krote just wanted them to stay busy all day.
The once-princess soon realized that that now and then, Mama Krote would go off down some odd tunnel or another and bring at least one of the other little toads with her. Sometimes she only brought one, sometimes it was as many as four or five. Always, though, Mama Krote would return with one fewer than she started out with. The once-princess asked several times where the toads went, but she was only told that they had completed their time in her service and been returned to resume their lives.
After some time passed, Mama Krote called for the once-princess and two other toads to come with her, as it was time for their final tests. The once-princess was nervous, but her desire to know just what this final test was won out, and so she followed. Mama Krote led them down a tunnel until they came to a room with a door. There, she sat in the middle of the floor, with the smaller toads around her. There was a knock on the door, and Mama Krote sang:
Maiden green and small,
Hopping toad,
Hopping toad's puppy,
Hop to and fro,
Quickly see who is outside.
The door opened and in walked a young man, dressed in clothes that were simple but finely-made. The once-princess wondered how he came to be in this room, for he looked as surprised to be there as she felt.
“
What do you want?” asked Mama Krote, without preamble.
“
If you please,” said the young man, “I would like the most beautiful and finest carpet possible.”
Mama Krote nodded and turned to the once-princess, singing:
Maiden green and small,
Hopping toad,
Hopping toad's puppy,
Hop to and fro,
Bring me the large box.
The once-princess understood at once what was being asked of her and hurried down the tunnel to where she had left her textile work. She found the best carpet she had made, with colors so bright it would make a rainbow dim in shame, and folded it neatly into a large box. She then brought it back to Mama Krote, who presented it to the youth.
“
Such splendor!” he marveled, when he opened the box and beheld the rich fabric within. “Truly, the one who made this is the finest weaver I have ever met. Many, many thanks, my dear friends!”
He bowed in thanks to the toads and left. The once-princess was baffled by what just happened and felt she would be blushing if she were still human.
“
That was the first part of the test,” said Mama Krote. “All of you return here tomorrow for the second part.”
The once-princess wondered if the young man would be back to see them. She rather hoped he would.
The next day passed very much the same as before. The toads gathered in the room, there was a knock on the door, and the young man arrived. This time, he said, he was in need of the most beautiful ring possible. Once more, the once-princess was the one chosen to bring the box. She returned to where she had left the set of rings and chose the one she felt was the best of the lot. It was her best work – a gold ring, set with green, purple, and orange gemstones on the top and a heart-shaped gem in the side. Once more, the man greatly admired the ring when Mama Krote gave it to him. This time, however, he looked at the once-princess and asked, “Did you make this? Be proud of such craftsmanship, for I have never seen its equal made by toad, man, or master smith!”
The once-princess could not think of anything to say to that, so she merely smiled and looked away. But when Mama Krote announced that there was one final part to their test, and they would gather in that room one final time, the once-princess found herself very excited at the thought of seeing the young man at least once more. The thought that it would be their last meeting saddened her, but she was determined to make the best of it and so she washed herself as best she could in a little underground pool of water before the third and final trip to the room.
As before, there was a knock on the door and, as before, Mama Krote sang her rhyme and the young man entered.
“
What do you need?” she asked, as she had the past two days.
The once-toad wondered what he would ask for this time, and began thinking of what she had left that she might be able to offer. Never would she have guessed what it was he needed today, though!
“
If you please, I am to take home the most beautiful woman as my wife.”
The once-princess was stunned, and then felt herself fall into despair. She knew that if she were only human, she would surely be able to help the man with that request. But as a toad, she hardly qualified as the most beautiful anything!
Mama Krote, for her part, did not seem the least bit confused by this request. “Oh! The most beautiful woman!” she said. “She is not here at the moment, but you shall have her, nonetheless.” Without another word, she rolled from some dark corner of the room a hollowed-out turnip, with six mice tied to it like horses to a carriage.
The young man looked dismayed as he asked, “What am I to do with this?”
“
Just take it outside and put one of my little toads in it,” said Mama Krote, waving her hand dismissively.
The young man looked at the three smaller toads sitting around her. The once-princess felt her heart beat as if it would burst in her chest, and she hoped so much he would remember her,
please, please, please…
And then the man reached down and she was in his hands. “My wonderful carpet-weaver and ring-maker,” he said with a smile, “I would have none leave with me but you.”
He carried the turnip, the mice, and the once-princess outside, set up the turnip and mice on the ground, and put the once-princess inside. She knew she looked ridiculous, a little toad stuffed in a turnip, but the man’s words to her had made her heart swell so much that she sat tall and proud. In fact, she felt as if she were growing taller by the second, as if she would be her old size once more…
And then, quite suddenly, she
was
her old size, in her previous body, wearing a beautiful wedding gown and sitting in a fine carriage of gold with six white horses hitched to the front! The young man stared at what she knew was a shocking sight, so she reached out her hand and helped him up to sit next to her. He kissed her warmly and set the carriage on its way. As they traveled, he told her of his trials to be named his elderly father’s successor, though his brothers thought he was little more than a simpleton. The princess, for her part, told him of her lessons and apprenticeships and how she came to be the toad he found.
They arrived at a fine pavilion where the elderly king awaited, with his eldest two sons and the maidens they found. The king seemed most pleased with the princess, especially when his youngest son told him she was the one who made the beautiful things he brought for the past two days. The king clasped both of their hands and swore that they would become king and queen after his death.
But the elder two princes began to cry that that wasn’t fair at all, for they had no proof that this maiden their youngest brother found – really, she could have been anyone from anywhere – had any of the qualifications she said she did. At the very least, one would expect a proper princess to be suitably graceful. They kept at this for long enough that finally the king relented and proposed one final trial to decide which of the maidens was most suitable to be their next queen. A good hoop was fetched and hung from the top of the pavilion and each maiden was to leap through.
At this, the eldest two princes were sure they would triumph, for (as the princess heard them whisper to each other), the maidens they selected were farmgirls who had strong legs and surely could make such a leap. That filmy, thin girl the youngest brought back would surely never even reach the hoop, let alone be able to jump through!
Alas for them, it did not go as they planned. The farmgirls jumped through the hoop easily enough, but both landed so heavily that they fell in graceless heaps and had to be helped up. The princess, meanwhile, made a beautiful leap through the hoop that would have made any dancer cheer, landing with catlike grace on both feet and curtseying to her husband and father-in-law-to-be.
There were no more protests after that. The princess and the prince were wed without delay. The princess sent for her father, as well as both of her previous masters, the granddaughter who ran the quilt stall, and the maidens who she had sewn alongside of. All of them were thrilled at her good fortune and enjoyed themselves immensely. The wedding lasted a week and a day, with dancing and feasting and wine for all. In the midst of it all, the princess swore she heard Mama Krote say, “Well done on your completed apprenticeship, Princess. You make your masters proud,” but when the princess looked behind her, she saw only a flash of a familiar, stout, leathery woman wading into the crowd, and nothing more.
Her father-in-law passed away several years later, to the sorrow of his kingdom. The princess and her husband became the next queen and king, ruling well and wisely for years after. You can be sure that if they have not died yet, they are ruling there still!