Fairy tale turns urban legend

Once upon a time there was a beautiful princess who lived in an enchanted castle surrounded by evergreen woods.

Everybody loved her because she was extremely kind and, not in the least, drop-dead gorgeous. She had an old father, a beautiful mother and two brothers that loved her, protected her and played with her all day long. They went riding and they enjoyed wandering through the woods.

One day, as her brothers had gone hunting with their father, the princess went for a stroll. As she was walking near a crystal-clear lake, she saw a little frog sitting by the water. It looked kind of sad, and as our princess hated to see animals (or people for that matter) in distress, she rushed to help the little creature.

As she was caressing and talking to the animal, it stood up and said: “My fair princess, never judge a book by its cover. It is true that I am a slimy frog today, but I used to be a mighty prince, ruling over a huge kingdom, with many faithful subjects. What you see now is the work of a wicked witch, who cursed me to lose my human appearance.”

“Oh, my God, said the Princess. This is the most amazing thing that has ever happened to me. I had heard about charms and spells, but to be honest, I just thought it was something made up by my mother to chase my boredom away.”

“Well, as you can see, it is true. All you have to do is kiss me and I will become a prince again,” the frog pleaded.

“I’m not so sure about this,” the princess said doubtfully. “But all the fairytales my mother told me at bedtime and that involved a prince turned into a frog ended with “…and they lived happily ever after”, so perhaps this is the right thing to do.”

So she bent graciously, took the frog into her arms and gave it the most loving kiss she had ever bestowed upon someone. And the remedy worked – the little green frog turned into the most handsome prince she had ever seen. He was tall and dark, clad in an exquisite Armani suit. He whistled once and a red convertible came immediately.

“Oh, my God,” the princess sighed in ecstasy. This is even better than my mother’s tales. “I love it. I would have never dreamed about it.”

“Well, my fair princess, sometimes reality is much better than fantasy,” the prince replied wisely. “But I want to repay your kindness – tell me your wish and I will try to make it come true. I have to tell you that I find you extremely attractive and I wouldn’t mind if you wanted to spend some time with me.”

“This sounds very tempting indeed,” the princess said. “But my mother taught me that I must always ask for a commitment before anything else so that I can feel safe for the rest of my life.”

“Oh, noooooooooooooo. You said “COMMITMENT”? I can’t believe it. This is the magic word that turns me into a toad each and every time. I can’t believe that you are a witch, too. How could I be fooled by your beauty, while you were trying to chain me for ever?” the prince moaned before turning back into a toad.

I wish I could say that they lived happily ever after, but not every toad is a prince charming.