Traditional/Folk Literature- The Frog Prince By: Grimm's Complete Fairy Tales

          Have you ever had to be nice to someone who you didn't like because of their gross habits or scary appearance? Was it your parents who made you be nice to them, because they said, "It was the right thing to do?" Well, in this young tale a princess learns why it is so important to be nice to those who would typically gross us out. This tale is the origin of a classic fairy tale that has recently be readapted into a Disney classic. In this tale, there is no kissing to release the spell of the wicked witch, rather it is just kindness and fulfilling a promise that releases the prince from his amphibious state. Once he is turned back into a prince, he marries the young princess and they live happily ever after. 

        When reading this story during our fairy tale unit, I will make sure to talk about how fairy tales have changed overtime. In this story, the frog is changed back into a prince when the princess agrees to let him sleep in her room that night. In the classic tale that most of us have heard, it takes "true love's kiss" to change the frog back into a prince. Changing of tales overtime is something that has commonly happened with Grimm's works. Many believed they are changed like this to reflect and include more positive morals. During the time of the Grimm's, marriage was still a very arranged situation. Love had little to do with who you married. This would have been even more true during the time that this story took place. In our society, we value love and romance as the most important virtues into choosing who to marry. This is perhaps why "true love's kiss" is now necessary for the frog to change into a prince. I would have my kids talk about any experiences they can think of when an old tale has been changed in modern work, and why they think it was changed.