Children's stories, French -- Translations into English; Fairy tales; Fairy tales -- France
The Queen knew nothing of all this. Meanwhile a little Princess had been
born to her, as beautiful as the Frog had predicted, to whom they gave
the name of Moufette. The Queen had great difficulty in persuading the
fairy to allow her to bring up the child, for so ferocious was she, that
she would have liked to eat it. Moufette, a wonder of beauty, was now
six months old; the Queen, as she looked upon her with a tenderness
mingled with pity, continually said: "Ah! if your father could see you,
my poor little one, how delighted he would be! how dear you would be to
him! But even, already, maybe, he has begun to forget me; he believes,
no doubt, that we are lost to him in death; and perhaps another fills
the place in his heart, that once was mine."
These sorrowful reflections caused her many tears; the Frog, who truly
loved her, seeing her cry like this, said to her one day: "If you would
like me to do so, madam, I will go and find the King, your husband; the
journey is long, and I travel but slowly; but, sooner or later, I shall
hope to arrive." This proposal could not have been more warmly received
than it was; the Queen clasped her hands, and made Moufette clasp hers
too, in sign of the gratitude she felt towards Madam Frog, for offering
to undertake the journey. She assured her that the King also would not
be ungrateful; "but," she continued, "of what use will it be to him to
know that I am in this melancholy abode; it will be impossible for him
to deliver me from it?" "Madam," replied the Frog, "we must leave that
to Heaven; we can only do that which depends on ourselves."
They said good-bye to one another; the Queen sent a message to the King,
written with her blood on a piece of rag; for she possessed neither ink
nor paper. She begged him to give attention to everything the good Frog
told him, and to believe all she said, as she was bringing him news of
herself.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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