A Fairy and Frog

By Sandeep Rathore

Frog and beautiful Fairy

Who said, cannot marry?

 

Once upon a time, across seven seas, in a majestic fairy-land, there was a beautiful castle beside the river of sweet water. And this charming castle was the home for three fairy sisters, whose names were Shine, Bright, and Grace. Shine was the eldest, and Grace was the youngest.

Every morning, when the sun was just rising up, Shine and Bright left the castle and flew away for giving their blessings to the children who were in the grave need. The youngest Grace remained in the castle. And the reason for that was her broken wings. She was born that way. In spite of the treatment of panacea of the fairy land, her broken wings couldn’t be healed. She would sit at the window and look at the river. The window of castle had a clear view of the river of which flowing water made a beautiful music, and little Grace would be lost in the music thinking about her sisters

It was just like any other day. Her sisters were out and she was sitting at the window gazing at flowing water of the river. In the morning, she had a row with her sisters. She wanted to go with them. But, like any other day, they refused on account of her damaged wings. Little Grace was feeling low sitting on her chair, looking at the river. Her heart was heavy.

Bored of sitting idly, she left the castle to reach the river.

It was awesome weather outside. Cool breeze was carrying the fragrance of flowers. Peacocks were dancing, nightingales were singing sweet melodious songs, and little bucks were running here and there merrily.

She felt really good. She sat on a big rock beside the river and engrossed in watching golden fishes in the flow of clear water.

Suddenly, she saw a frog among fishes. As she looked at him closely, she found that he was struggling to swim. She approached the bank and saw that a tiny pebble was tied to a leg of the frog. So, the frog was not able to swim, he was just drifting in the current.

Grace thought for some moments and then decided to go into the river without caring her priceless shiny gown.

She held the frog gently in her palms and put it on the soft grass near the bank.

“Who tied your leg, my little friend?” she asked, removing the pebble from his leg.

“When I went to the village, a naughty kid tied that pebble on my leg,” the frog said.

“But why did you leave the bank of the river?”

“I was alone lonely and had nothing to do. So, I went there hearing the sound of children.”

“Don’t you have a family?”  she asked as she became curious.

“No, I’m alone.” said the frog sadly.

“It’s ok. Now, I’m your friend.”

Grace and that frog became friend and chatted for some time. Then, the frog knew she couldn’t fly as her wings were broken.

“Wait for me, I will be back,” the frog said.

“But where are you going?” Grace inquired.

“We are friends, I have to show you my beautiful castle.”

“Just wait for me. It won’t be long.” And the frog smiled. But Grace did not understand anything.

“Ok, I will wait.”

The frog jumped into the river and swam swiftly. He was moving faster in the water. Soon, he was out of her sight.

Grace was all alone again. She looked at the swimming golden fishes again. But soon, her eyes averted. She was now thinking about her friend, the frog. She realized that she had not asked his name.

The sun was setting in the sky. It was the time when her sister would return the castle. But she made a promise to wait. So, she waited. She waited for about half an hour.

Just then, she spotted the frog in the river. He was swimming at lightning fast speed. She took a sigh of relief.

“Apply it on your wings when the has sun set completely,” the frog said, handing over a tiny herb.

“Will it cure my wings?” asked Grace in amazement.

“Yes, it will. It is panacea from my kingdom. It cures all diseases.”

“Your kingdom?” Grace was puzzled.

“Leave it. Apply the medicine; the sun is not in the sky.” The frog chucked at the question.

Grace rubbed the herb in her palms and applied the juice of the herb to her wings. As she did so, she felt a strange tremor in her wings and then in her body. The next moment the biggest magic happened. Her wings, which couldn’t be treated by the panacea of the fairy land, became perfectly alright. And she felt a strong urge to fly.

She was so happy that she didn’t know what to say to her friend. And the frog was smiling, looking at her face.

“‘Fly, fly you beautiful fairy, I want to see you flying,” the frog said.

And Grace flew and circled her castle many times in awe. She was on the cloud nine. Her joy knew no limit.

She returned to the river to thank her new benevolent friend. But she was surprised not to find the frog.

There was a beautiful prince sitting on the very rock she sat before. He was wearing shiny gown. He was so handsome that her eyes were glued to his face.

“Excuse me, have you seen a little frog?” she asked sheepishly,

“Oh, the frog, I was that frog,” he smiled.

He told her the whole story that once he was a prince and was under a spell by a magician whom he used to give a lot of trouble. Once he put a frog in his cloak. So, the magician cast a spell on him and said that he would remain under the spell until he helped somebody. And the cure of your wings broke the spell.

Little Grace took the prince to the castle. By then, her sisters were back. She told everything to her sisters, and introduced the prince to them. And the prince told them stories of his kingdom that was far away from the fairy-land.

The castle used to be a lonely place for her when her sisters went in the morning. But now, it was full of joy and merriment. They sang, danced, and told beautiful stories each other.

After some days, the prince married with Grace and lived in the castle happily ever after.

- Total nr. of readings: 8,415 Copyright © The author [2020] All Rights Reserved. This story may not be reproduced without the express written permission of the author except for personal use.