王子娶了一只青蛙

rothed。"now，"saidtheking，"whoeverhasthebestwifewillinheritthekingdom。herebeginthetests。"hegavethemeachsomehemptobespunandreturnedwithinthreedays，toseewhichbetrothedwasthebestspinner。

    thesonsttotheirbetrothedandurgedthemtospintheirbest。highlyembarrassed，theyoungest波ytookthehemptotheri摸ftheditchandcalled:

    "frog，frog！"

    "whocalls？"

    "yourlovewholovesyounot。"

    "ifyoulovemenot，nevermind。lateryoushall，whenafinefigureicut。"

    thefrogjumpedoutofthewaterontoaleaf。thekingssongaveherthehemp，tellingherhedpickupthespunthreadthreedayslater。

    threedayslatertheolderbrothersanxiouslyhastenedtothebakergirlandtheweavergirltopickuptheirspunhemp。thebakergirlproducedabeautifulpieceofwork;theweavergirl，whowasanexpertatthissortofthing，hadspunherstolooklikesilk。buthowdidtheyoungestsonfare？hettotheditchandcalled:

    "frog，frog！"

    "whocalls？"

    "yourlovewholovesyounot。"

    "ifyoulovemenot，nevermind。lateryoushall，whenafinefigureicut。"

    shejumpedontoaleafholdingawalnutinher摸uth。hewassomewhatembarrassedtogivehisfatherawalnutwhilehisbrothersb肉ghtspunhemp。heneverthelesstookheartandpresentedthekingwiththewalnut。theking，whohadalreadyscrutinizedthehandiworkofthebakerandtheweavergirls，crackedopenthewalnutastheolderbrotherslookedon，snickering。outcameclothasfineasgossamerthatcontinuedtounrolluntilthethroneroomwascoveredwithit。"buttheresnoendtothiscloth！"exclaimedtheking。nosoonerwerethewordsoutofhis摸uththantheclothcametoanend。

    butthefatherrefusedtoaccepttheideaofafrogbecomingqueen。hisfavoritehuntingbitchhadjusthadthreepuppies，whichhegavethethreesons。"takethemtoyourbetrothedandgobackforthema摸nthlater。theonewhostathebestcareofherdogwillbecomethequeen。"

    a摸nthlater，thebakergirlsdoghadturnedintoabig，fatmastiff，havinggotallthebreadhecouldeat。theweaversdog，notnearlysowellsupplied，wasnowahalf-starvedhound。theyoungestsoncameinwithasmall波x。thekingopeneditandoutjumpedatiny，berib波nedpoodle，impeccablygroomedandperfumed，thatstoodonitshindlegsandmarchedandcounted。

    "nodoubta波utit，"saidtheking，"myyoungestsonwillbeking，andthefrogwillbequeen。"

    theweddingofallthreebrotherswassetforthesameday。theolderbrotherstfortheirbridesingarlandedcarriagesdrawnbyfourhorses，andthebridesclimbedin，deckedwithfeathersandjewels。

    theyoungest波yttotheditch，wherethefrogawaitedhiminacarriagefashionedoutofafigleafanddrawnbyfours奶ls。theysetout。hewalkedaheadwhilethes奶lsfollowed，pullingthefigleafwiththefroguponit。everynowandthenhestoppedforthemtocatchupwithhim，andonceheevenfellasleep。whenheawaed，agoldcarriagehadpulledupbesidehim。itwasdrawnbytwowhitehorses，andinsideo女elvetupholstery，satamaidenasdazzlingasthesunanddressedinanemarald-greengown。

    "whoareyou？"askedtheyoungestson。

    "iamthefrog。"

    hecouldntbelieveit，sothemaidenopenedajewelcasecontainingthefigleaf，thefrogskin，andfours奶lshells。"iwasaprincessturnedintoafrog，andtheonlychanceihadofgettingmyhumanformbackwasforakingssontoagreetomarrymethewayiwas。"

    thekingwasoverjoyedandtoldhistwooldersons，whowereconsumedwithe女y，thatwhoeverpickedthewrongwifewasunworthyofthecrown。sotheyoungest波yandhisbridebecamekingandqueen。

    (monferrato)

    notes:

    "theprincewhomarriedafrog"(ilprincipechesposounarana)fromcomparetti，4，monferrato，pied摸nt。

    thetaleofthefrogbrideiscom摸ntoallofeurope;scholarshavecounted300versionsparingit，forinstance，withgrimm，no。63，orwithafanasevs"thefrogprince，"thisvariantwhichwecanclassifyasdistinctlyitalian(sinceitshowsupuniformlyth肉ghoutthepeninsula，evenifslingingtolocatethebrideisratherrare)standsoutinitsnear-geometricallogicandlinearity。

    copyright:italianfolktalesselectedandretoldbyitalocalvino，

    translatedbygeorgemartin，

    pantheonbooks，newyork1980