The Weekly Shaman–Chris Friend

 Living in a small city I often miss hearing the spring peepers and the chirping of frogs. With the special chanting of the frogs was also  an obvious sign of warmer weather and the mysterious alchemy of nature. And anyone who is familiar with fairy tales will know about frogs in magic and folklore. Throughout India, Hungary, Norway, and many other places we hear of the stories of the frog prince. Some lore compares the  frog stories to the proverbial beauty and the beast tales. In many of these tales the youngest of three princess  drops her golden ball down a well. A magical frog tells the princess the he will retrieve the ball if she agrees talk to him, dine with him and sleep with him. Once she gets her golden ball she immediately runs off leaving the sad frog. alone and crying. The next night when the royal family set down to dinner there was a knock at the door. When the princess opens it there sets the frog.  The princess slams the door in the poor little frogs face, The princess’s father insists that she let the frog in and live up to their agreement. She finds herself setting next to the frog during dinner. When the frog attempts to climb into bed with her, the princess flings him against the wall. When the frog hits the wall it magically becomes a handsome prince. This causes the snotty princess to change her mind. The next day the princes carriage with his faithful servant and they drive away leaving the spoiled princess behind. Sometimes  the princess is the stepdaughter as in the fairy tale “ The Well at the World’s End”. In this case the young girl must bring water in a sieve and the frog tells her to mix with clay. She smears the clay on the frog and it becomes the handsome prince.  This leads to marriage and a suitable happy ending and so it goes.