"The Frog Prince; or, Iron Henry" (, literally "The Frog King or the Iron Henry") is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm and published in 1812 in Grimms' Fairy Tales (KHM 1). Traditionally, it is the first story in their folktale collection. The tale is classified as Aarne-Thompson type 440.
"The Frog Prince" can be compared to the similar eastern European fairy tale "The Frog Princess".
Origin
Editions The story is best known through the rendition of the Brothers Grimm, who published it in their 1812 edition of Kinder- und Hausmärchen (Grimms' Fairy Tales), as tale no. 1. An older, moralistic version was included in the Grimms' handwritten Ölenberg Manuscript from 1810. Jack Zipes noted in 2016 that the Grimms greatly treasured this tale, considering it to be one of the "oldest and most beautiful in German-speaking regions."
Sources The Grimms' source is unclear, but apparently comes from an oral tradition of Dortchen Wild's family in Kassel. Volume 2 of the first edition of Kinder- und Hausmärchen, published in 1815, included a variation of this story entitled Der Froschprinz (The Frog Prince), published as tale no. 13. As this version was not included in later editions, it has since remained relatively unknown.
It has been postulated by some scholars that parts of the tale may extend back until at least Roman times; an aspect of the story is referred to in Petronius' Satyricon, in which the character Trimalchio remarks, "qui fuit rana nunc est rex" ("The man who was once a frog is now a king"). Other scholars, however, argue that this may actually be a jab at the emperor Nero, who was often mockingly compared to a frog.
Folklorist Stith Thompson suggested that the story of the Frog King in the German tradition began with a 13th-century literary tale written in Latin.Thompson, Stith. The Folktale. University of California Press. 1977. pp. 101–102, 179.
Plot In the forest, a selfish princess accidentally drops her golden ball into a well. A frog offers to retrieve it in exchange for her friendship. She agrees but goes back on her word after getting the ball back and runs to her castle. The next day, she is eating with her father when the frog knocks on the door and requests to be let in. The king tells his daughter that she must keep her promise, and she reluctantly obeys. The frog sits next to her and eats from her plate, then desires to sleep in the princess's bed. She is disgusted at the idea of sleeping with the frog, but her father angrily chastises her for loathing someone who helped her in a time of need. She picks up the frog and places him in the corner of her bedroom, but he hops up to her bed and demands to sleep as comfortably as the princess. Furious, she throws the frog against the wall, but as he falls to the floor he has transformed into a handsome prince. He explains that he was cursed by a wicked witch and the spell could only be broken with the princess's help. The next day, the two go to the prince's kingdom where they will be married.
In modern versions, the transformation is triggered by the princess kissing the frog (a motif that apparently first appeared in English translations).Heiner, Heidi Anne. "The Annotated Frog King" In other early versions, it was sufficient for the frog to sleep for three nights on the princess' pillow.Thompson, Stith. The Folktale. University of California Press. 1977. p. 102.
The frog prince also has a loyal servant named Henry (or Heinrich) who had three iron bands affixed around his heart to prevent it from breaking from sadness when his master was cursed. When the frog prince reverts to his human form, Henry's overwhelming happiness causes the bands to break, freeing his heart from its bonds.Owens, Lily, ed. (1981). The Complete Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales. p.3. Avenel Books.
Variants Distribution It is Aarne–Thompson type 440.D. L. Ashliman, "Frog Kings: folktales of Aarne–Thompson–Uther type 440 about slimy suitors" According to German folklorist Hans-Jörg Uther, variants are registered across Europe. In addition, scholars Lutz Röhrich, Waldemar Liungman, and Jurjen van der Kooi noted that, apart from some isolated attestations in the southern part of the continent and in Eastern Europe, variants of the tale were collected in the northern part of Europe, comprising a sort of "core area": Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Belgium and Netherlands, extending to Ireland and Great Britain.Röhrich, Lutz. "Froschkönig (AaTh 440)" [Frog King (ATU 440)]. Enzyklopädie des Märchens Online. Edited by Rolf Wilhelm Brednich, Heidrun Alzheimer, Hermann Bausinger, Wolfgang Brückner, Daniel Drascek, Helge Gerndt, Ines Köhler-Zülch, Klaus Roth and Hans-Jörg Uther. Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, 2016 . p. 413. https://doi.org/10.1515/emo.5.058. Accessed 2023-08-26.Kooi, Jurjen van der. "De kikkerkoning". In: Van Aladdin tot Zwaan kleef aan. Lexicon van sprookjes: ontstaan, ontwikkeling, variaties. 1ste druk. Ton Dekker & Jurjen van der Kooi & Theo Meder. Kritak: Sun. 1997. p. 182.
However, Röhrich and van der Kooi remarked that the variants collected from oral tradition, even in America, clearly go back to a European original, and Uther argues that they are dependent on the Grimm's tale.Kooi, Jujen van der. "De kikkerkoning". In: Van Aladdin tot Zwaan kleef aan. Lexicon van sprookjes: ontstaan, ontwikkeling, variaties. 1ste druk. Ton Dekker & Jurjen van der Kooi & Theo Meder. Kritak: Sun. 1997. p. 182. That argument does not take into account the Scottish version of the story found referenced in the 16th century Scottish text "Complaynt of Scotland". (See Opie and Opie "The Classic Fairy Tales" (1974) p. 183.)
Other tales Other folktales similar to "The Frog Prince" are:
"The Frog Prince". The first English translation of the above tale. Edgar Taylor, the translator, not only changed the title, but altered the ending in a substantial and interesting manner. "The Wonderful Frog" (W. Henry Jones and Lewis L. Kropf, Hungary). "The Tale of the Queen Who Sought a Drink From a Certain Well" (J. F. Campbell, Scotland). "The Well of the World's End" "The Paddo" (Robert Chambers, Scotland). "The Maiden and the Frog" (James Orchard Halliwell-Phillipps, England). "Oda und die Schlange" (Oda and the Snake) (Ludwig Bechstein, Germany) – a variant where a serpent replaces the frogBechstein, Ludwig. Sämtliche Märchen. München: 1971, pp. 168–170. "The Kind Stepdaughter and the Frog" (W. Henry Jones and Lewis L. Kropf, England). "The Frog Prince" (H. Parker, Sri Lanka). "A Frog for a Husband" (William Elliot Griffis, Korea). "The Toad Bridegroom" (Zong In-Sob, Korea).
A similar tale type is ATU 402, "The Animal Bride". In these tales, a female animal (mouse, cat or frog) helps a prince with three tasks and after marrying him, assumes human form. In Puddocky (old word for toad), another German folk tale, and likewise "Tsarevna Lyagushka" (The Frog Princess), a Russian folk tale, the male and female roles of the frog prince are reversed. Prince Ivan Tsarevitch discovers the enchanted female frog, who becomes Vasilisa the Wise, a sorceress.
In a Latvian tale, Little White Dog, a girl is tasked with getting water from a well without getting the bucket wet. A little white dog appears and promises to help her if she accepts him as her bridegroom.Olcott, Frances Jenkins. Wonder tales from Baltic wizards: from the German and English. London, New York: Longman, Green and Co. 1928. pp. 154–158.
Predecessors A possible parallel in Antiquity may be found in the story of Amymone, who was one of the Danaides. She went to fetch water in a jug because of a drought season caused by the gods. A satyr tried to force himself on her, but the god Poseidon rescued her. It has been suggested that the amphibian suitor and the handsome prince may have been separate characters at first.Anderson, Graham. Fairytale in the Ancient World. Routledge. 2000. pp. 176–178.
According to the Brothers Grimm, they collected another variant from Hesse with a similar narrative of the frog suitor: a king is ill and sends his three daughters to fetch some healing water from a well in their courtyard. The elder princess draws some water that is muddy, when a frog hops in and asks her to be its sweetheart, saying that otherwise she will only be able to fetch dirty water. The elder refuses, and so does the middle princess. The cadette princess agrees to be the frog's sweetheart and brings back fresh, clean water for her father. Later, the frog appears at the castle and asks the princess to honor her promise, so she lets the animal in and lets it sleep on her bed with her.
Cultural legacy
Prose Stevie Smith's poem "The Frog Prince" (1966) suggests the thoughts of the prince as he waits for disenchantment.From her collection The Frog Prince and Other Poems, 1966 – also appears in Stevie Smith: A Selection, 1983. Anne Sexton wrote an adaptation as a poem called "The Frog Prince" in her collection Transformations (1971), a book in which she re-envisions sixteen of the Grimms' fairy tales."Transformations by Anne Sexton" Robin McKinley's 1981 collection of short stories The Door in the Hedge contains a version of the tale, entitled "The Princess and the Frog". Linda Medley's graphic novel Castle Waiting from 1996 contains a character named Iron Henry or Iron Heinrich, who has 3 iron bands around his heart to repair the heartbreak he suffered when his son died of a fearful curse. French graphic novel Garulfo (1992–2002) is a fairy tale about a frog who asks a witch to transform him into a prince - so that he can live life at the top of the food chain. Bill Willingham's graphic novel series Fables features many fairytale characters living as refugees in New York, including Ambrose "Flycatcher" the former Frog Prince, now a janitor and errand boy. Robert Coover wrote a "reimagined" version of the tale for The New Yorker in 2014.The Frog Prince by Robert Coover
Stage Adelheid Wette based her 1896 play on "The Frog Prince", although she called it "The Frog King". Margarete Schweikert based her 1913 children's operetta "The Frog King" on the Grimm Brothers' fairytale "The Frog Prince". A musical version of The Frog Prince, written by Dieter Stegmann and Alexander S. Bermange, was presented at the Amphitheater Park Schloss Philippsruhe in Hanau, Germany as part of the Brothers Grimm Festival in 2005. A chamber opera for children based upon The Frog Prince, written by Jacob A. Greenberg for Brown Opera Productions and the Providence Athenaeum, was performed in 2008.Events at Brown University (2008) , Rhode Island State Council on the Arts. Accessed March 26, 2017. The Children's Theatre of Cincinnati's Script Development Division adapted the one-act musical Princess & Frog in 2020. The stage musical is adapted from the full-length musical Croaker written by Jason Marks and Debra Clinton. The English alternative rock band Keane released a song titled "The Frog Prince" within their 2004 UK number-one album Under The Iron Sea.
Film The Frog (1908), directed by Segundo de Chomón, is the first film adaptation of "The Frog Prince". The Frog Prince was a 1971 film starring Robin the Frog, Trudy Young and Gordon Thomson. The Frog Prince is a 1986 film starring John Paragon and Aileen Quinn. Prince Charming is a 2001 film adaptation of the fairy tale, starring Martin Short, Christina Applegate and Sean Maguire as the title character. The prince is cursed to remain a frog until a maiden breaks his spell, giving him extreme longevity and allowing for the modern setting of the film. In Shrek 2, Fiona's father King Harold is secretly the Frog Prince. However, unlike the fairy tale where the princess meets him as a frog and her actions make him human, he becomes human through a deal with the Fairy Godmother.