The Frog Princess

by E. D. Baker

  My stomach flip-flopped when Grassina picked up the basket, and I grabbed the sides to keep my balance. I waited until my footing was secure before reaching for the scale. Black as the deepest night, it was as thick as my father's thumb and as wide across as the palm of his hand. The edge was serrated but for one smooth section and I was glad I didn't have to pick it up. With the surface so slick and the edges so sharp, I was sure I would have either cut myself or dropped it. "Now what do I do?" I asked Grassina, looking up at her.

  "Just wait," she said. "Patience is a virtue and often vital when doing magic. The scale is seeking the otter for you. It will tell you the direction in a moment."

  "You mean it's going to talk to us?" Eadric asked, pressing his eardrum against the center of the scale.

  "No!" Grassina laughed. "Watch the color. Red means hot and you're going in the right direction. Blue stands for cold and will appear if you take any direction but the right one. Look, it's working."

  The red lights were gone, leaving only blue to shoot about inside the scale. "It's cold, Aunt Grassina. This is the wrong direction. Turn around and we'll see what it does."

  "Hot, cold, it sounds like a child's game," grumbled Eadric. "I thought the scale would tell us more than that."

  Grassina smiled and shook her head. "I said it was a small favor! Besides, this will be sufficient. Now, Emma, how about this?"

  My aunt began to turn in a circle, but the lights were still blue. It wasn't until she had turned three-quarters of the way around that they began to flash red. "Now, Aunt Grassina! We have to go that way!"

  "Very well! Then we'll be off." Gathering her skirts with one hand while holding the basket with the other, she started walking.

  "Are you going to take us all the way to the otter?" asked Eadric, struggling to stay on his feet as the basket jiggled and bounced. "Because that's very kind if you are."

  "I'm not trying to be kind. I'm just not about to let my niece go traipsing off into the swamp without me again. Not after what happened last time! Emma, keep your eye on the scale and tell me if I need to change direction."

  "You're doing fine, Aunt Grassina. No, wait, you've lost it.... That's it, a little to the left..."

  I never have been a good judge of distance, but it soon became apparent that the otter wasn't to be found close by. Grassina and I worked as a team, turning this way and that as the lights changed from red to blue. Sometimes the scale took us to an unpassable point and we had to turn around and find another way. Quagmires, ponds, even an apparently bottomless pit made it impossible to go straight. It didn't help that Grassina turned around and backtracked each time we encountered flowers, looking worried until we'd circumvented the plants by a large margin.

  Having crossed swampy terrain myself, I knew how exhausting it could be, but Grassina never complained, remaining cheerful even when the mud tried to suck her shoes off her feet, branches whipped her cheek, or she had to retrace her steps yet again. It wasn't until I announced that my head ached from staring at the flickering lights that she suggested we stop to rest. I was grateful on my own account and pleased that I'd found an excuse to make her rest as well.

  With nowhere to sit but the sodden ground, Grassina gestured at a small hummock and whispered softly. The ground rumbled and a large stone rose out of the mound, rotating to present a flat surface. Another word from Grassina and a puff of wind scoured the rock free of soil and insects. Sighing with pleasure, my aunt settled herself on the rock and set the basket on her lap.

  "Can I ask a question?" asked Eadric.

  Grassina smiled. "Yes, Eadric, of course, although I'm not sure that I can answer it."

  "That spell that you said earlier, the one about finding the bracelet... Did you make that up as you went along or did you think of it ahead of time?"

  "I made it up as I said it. That's how I do most of my spells."

  "You're very good! I could never come up with something like that on the spur of the moment."

  "It takes practice, that's all."

  "Do all spells have to rhyme?" I asked.

  "No. It depends on the witch, really. Rhyming works better for some, prose for others. Whatever she's comfortable with. I happen to prefer rhyming, but then I've always loved poems that rhyme. Haywood used to write the most beautiful poems for me "

  "But coming up with the right words ..."

  "Comes with time and practice. It's best if novices use established spells, ones that are known to work."

  "Hmm," I said. I had a lot to think about. My success with magic in Vannabe's cottage had made me look at the art in a different light. Sure, I had messed up every other time I'd tried it, but then I hadn't really believed that I could do it. But now that I knew that I could, and that I had the flair ... I had an idea, vague at first, but the more I thought about it, the more I thought it would work.

  And that was another thing. I appreciated Grassina's help and I knew that it had made finding the otter easier and faster, but I wanted to see what I could do.

  "Aunt Grassina, I want to get the bracelet back myself," I blurted out, certain that if I didn't say it now, I might lose my nerve. "When we find the otter, I want to be the one to talk to him."

  "Emma," said Eadric. "Are you crazy?"

  Grassina frowned. "But why? I'll be there. The otter won't hurt me, but it's too dangerous for a frog."

  "I've come up with a plan. I want to try some magic of my own. You said yourself that I have the flair, a natural talent for magic. If I really do have the gift..."

  Eadric sputtered, trying to get the words out. "It's—it's out of the question! I told you that otters eat frogs!"

  "But he won't see me as just a frog! I know what to do."

  "Tell me about this plan of yours," said Grassina, looking as serious as I'd ever seen her.

  "It's simple, really. I'll dress as the swamp fairy and tell the otter that the bracelet is mine and that he has to give it back. There isn't a real swamp fairy, is there, Aunt Grassina?"

  "None that I know of, but I don't keep up with all the fairies in the area."

  Eadric shook his head. "You're a frog, Emma! How do you think you can pass yourself off as a fairy?"

  "That wouldn't be a problem," said Grassina. "Fairies are magical beings by their very nature and can easily take the form of an animal if they choose. I've met fairies who look like cats, so why not a frog?"

  "What made you think of a swamp fairy, anyway?" Eadric asked.

  "The otter isn't going to hand anything over to a frog, is he?" I said. "But I bet he would to a fairy. Everyone knows that fairies can be nasty if they're crossed."

  Eadric snorted. "And what are you going to do if the otter doesn't laugh himself to death?"

  "Use a little magic to convince him that I'm serious. I already have a few spells in mind."

  "This may not be the best time to bring it up," said Grassina, "but you haven't had such wonderful results with some of your magic "

  "This won't be the same at all. I remember some of the spells from Mudine's books. I'll use one of those, more than one if I have to."

  "That's your plan?" said Eadric. "It'll never work! It's too simple."

  Grassina shook her head. "I don't agree with you, Eadric. Sometimes the simplest plans are the best. Things get too complicated and there are too many things that could go wrong. But Emma, I can't agree with this idea of yours, either. It's just too dangerous! You're too inexperienced. Why, you haven't even been practicing magic the way you should have."

  "I know, and I'm sorry about that, but I'm sure I can do this."

  "Maybe so," said Grassina, "but this isn't the time to try out your magic. Even if you were proficient, the otter could be too fast for you. No, I'll have to handle this."

  My aunt isn't the easiest person to argue with. Once she makes up her mind, she refuses to listen to other people's opinions. I was going to try anyway until I noticed a faraway look in her eyes and I knew that she was already thinking about what she wa
s going to do.

  Seventeen

  By midafternoon we had reached the river, and it became obvious that we were getting close when we saw that the scale was filled with brilliant red lights exploding in a flurry of blazing sparks. Following the river, we came to an old willow growing halfway down the bank, its roots anchoring it to the crumbling mud that the river threatened to wash away. With the scale glowing a fiery, solid red, we knew that we'd found the otter's den.

  Eadric and I peered over the side of the basket as Grassina took a step closer, and there, growing along the water's edge and completely surrounding the den, was a great swath of knee-high plants topped by clusters of clear blue blossoms. Grassina gasped, then turned and scrambled back upriver, away from the threat of the flowers.

  "Oh, dear," she said, wiping a sheen of perspiration from her upper lip once she had gotten far enough away. "That won't do at all."

  "Are you all right?" I asked, not liking the way she had suddenly gone pale.

  "Yes, yes, I am," she said, patting her face as if to make sure. "But I can't possibly go near the otter's den now. You saw that larkspur. If I were to touch it . . ."

  "I don't understand," said Eadric. "Why would you be afraid of some plants?"

  "Aunt Grassina is allergic to flowers."

  "I'm afraid it's not an allergy, Emma. It's a curse, placed on our family generations ago. It began with Hazel, the first Green Witch."

  "But I was told that you and Mother were allergic."

  "We didn't want to frighten you, but this curse affects all the women in our family, starting on their sixteenth birthday. We thought we had a few years before we had to tell you."

  "What does this curse do?" asked Eadric.

  Grassina shuddered and a look of horror crossed her face. "It changes a witch, and she becomes hideous. Her hair becomes coarse; her nose lengthens, growing hooked and lumpy, nearly meeting her chin. Her face and body are covered with warts, her voice turns into an ugly cackle, and her personality—"

  "That sounds just like Grandmother! Do you mean it was the curse that made her look that way?"

  Grassina nodded. "She didn't believe in the curse until it was too late."

  Eadric scratched his head with his toe, the jerking of his leg making the basket shake. "Isn't there any way to break the curse? Surely a family of witches ..."

  "The curse is very old. According to the story I heard, Hazel was a lovely young woman and an already accomplished witch who threw a party to celebrate her sixteenth birthday, inviting all the local princes and princesses, witches, and fairies. Hazel had a green thumb and was known for growing the most beautiful flowers in the region. As the guests left at the end of the evening, she gave each one a bouquet that had been charmed to last a lifetime. However, some unexpected guests had arrived, so she ran short of bouquets. When the last fairy stood at the castle door having received nothing more than an apology, she cursed the witch Hazel and all her female descendents. Unfortunately, part of the curse involves an unpleasant disposition and Hazel became too surly to do anything about it. When she died, she took the solution to the curse with her. Fairies, however, live for a very long time, so the curse lives on in us. After our sixteenth birthday, we don't dare touch a flower for fear of falling victim to Hazel's fate."

  "That's terrible!" said Eadric. "Don't worry, Emma. After you turn sixteen, I'll never bring you flowers."

  "Gee, thanks," I said, certain he wouldn't have anyway.

  Grassina wrung her hands in despair. "I'm sorry, Emma. I don't dare go near those flowers!"

  "Can't you get rid of them with a spell?" asked Eadric.

  "No. Even touching them with my magic would bring on the transformation!"

  "It's all right," I said. "I wanted to do it myself anyway. But if you could help me get ready ..."

  "Of course!" she said, but she still looked worried. "I feel very bad about this, you know. It's terribly dangerous. We'll just have to take every precaution." Grassina nodded, as if she'd come to a decision. "AU right. What can I do to help?"

  "First, we need to find a few things."

  I would have preferred to use flower petals to make my skirt, but the curse made that impossible if Grassina was going to help. After finding velvety, heart-shaped leaves, we set about collecting the rest of my supplies. Aunt Grassina picked some broad leaves that I folded to make pouches, filling one with pine sap and another with bits of mica we chipped from a large rock. Pine needles and spiderwebs went into other pouches, and I found a straight twig that wasn't too long or too thick, one that felt just right in my hand.

  I directed Grassina to a spot by the river where I had seen dragonflies zigzagging above the water on their own mysterious errands. We waited on the riverbank while Eadric caught a snack, bringing me an assortment of dragonfly wings on his return. I was just too excited to be hungry.

  Once we were together again, we made our way to a sunny spot at the edge of a meadow with sun-warmed boulders to sit on and enough insects to keep Eadric happy. I tried to use the spiderweb thread to sew myself a leafy skirt, but frog fingers aren't made for holding needles, so Grassina had to do it. While she sewed, I made my magic wand, spreading pine sap on the end of the twig before dipping it into the pouch filled with bits of sparkling mica.

  When I'd finished the wand, I sorted through the dragonfly wings Eadric had brought me, looking for the prettiest. After eliminating a few because they were either too big or too small, I chose a buttercup-yellow pair with pale green veining. Not only were they the right size, but they looked nice with my velvety emerald-green skirt.

  Once I had the skirt on, I asked Grassina to glue the wings to my back with another dab of pine sap. They drooped a bit and we were trying to fix them when Eadric returned, his stomach bulging with all the insects he'd eaten.

  "I'm ready!" I announced, although my wings still weren't quite right.

  "Just a minute," said Grassina. Taking a chain from around her neck, she showed me her farseeing ball, encased in golden filigree. She blew on it and the ball frosted over with her breath, turning milky and opaque. "Now tap it," she said, holding the sphere out to me.

  I did as she ordered and my face appeared in the ball. "There," she said, making herself comfortable on the boulder. "It's focused on you now and will show me everything that goes on around you. I can watch from here. I'll know right away if you need me and I'll be there in an instant, curse or no curse."

  "Grassina ... ," I began.

  "It's the only way I'll let you go without me."

  "That's fine for you," said Eadric, "but I'm going with her."

  'You can't!" I exclaimed. "It won't work if anyone else is there."

  Eadric held up his hand as if that could stop any protest. "I won't go the whole way. The otter will never see me. I just want to make sure you're all right."

  I was touched by his concern. He could be so obnoxious at times, so sweet at others. Sometimes I just didn't know what to make of Eadric.

  After saying good-bye to Grassina and promising her that I'd be careful, I started back to the otter's den with Eadric at my side. He seemed cheerful enough at first, but as we neared the river, his expression became grim.

  "I've been thinking," he said. "Why don't we just go in the otter's den while he's out and find the bracelet ourselves?"

  "And risk having him come back and find us there? We'd be trapped in his den just waiting for him to eat us!"

  "That's true," he said. "But if one of us kept him away..."

  "Eadric, we talked about this!"

  "I know, but I don't think you should do it. You're not invincible, you know, and you're not as experienced as I am. You've never had to face the wrath of a charging dragon or a goblin gone berserk. I can't help it. I'm worried. If something happens to you, I'll end up a lonely old frog. Give me the swamp fairy stuff and I'll go instead."

  I tried not to smile, but it wasn't easy. The thought of Eadric in the swamp fairy skirt was too funny for words, but the
fact that he had offered to take my place meant a lot to me.

  "That's an awfully nice offer, Eadric, but I'm afraid it wouldn't work. I don't think you'd make a very believable swamp fairy."

  "I don't know..."

  "This is going to work, Eadric. I know what I'm doing." I hope, I thought, trying to look optimistic. What if the otter didn't believe me? What if Grassina couldn't get there in time? The consequences of failure would be far worse than my usual humiliation, for if I didn't do this just right, the otter would eat me. If I succeeded, however, Eadric and I would be humans again before the end of the day. Either way, what happened next would determine my future, or even whether I was going to have one.

  The shadows were growing longer when Eadric and I approached the otter's den. With both of us caught up in what I was about to do, we forgot to pay attention to our surroundings. When we heard the thud of running paws, we barely had time to hop for cover before the huge white dog came into sight. It was the same beast that had tried to eat me, the same one the old toad had chased away. Although we hid in the tall grass, it was obvious from the way he was sniffing the air that the dog had caught our scent and would soon find us.

  "What are we going to do?" I whispered to Eadric. "If I go in the water now, my costume will be ruined and I'll have to start all over again!"

  "Don't worry." said Eadric. "I'll handle this. Look for the otter's den under the willow's roots. I'll meet you back here as soon as I get rid of the dog. Just make sure you get that bracelet back!"

  Without telling me what he was going to do, Eadric crawled out of our hiding place and hopped directly into the dog's path. "Hey, doggie!" shouted Eadric. "I'm over here!"

  The dog had been snuffling the ground, but at the sound of Eadric's voice, its head jerked up. Eadric began to hop about erratically to get the dog's attention. I watched in horror as the beast spotted Eadric and bounded after him, its tail wagging so hard that it was just a blur.