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Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, there was a prince. The prince was a carefree soul who enjoyed the simple pleasures in life. Of flowers, foods, and freedom, Reiner the prince enjoyed freedom the most. His days were often spent peacefully resting in flowery fields, with his horse grazing nearby. His evenings were spent with mead, and joyful laughter, while he was wrapped in the arms of handsome men with a bit of love to spare.
But his mother, the Queen, found no joy in the happiness of her son. Her son was to marry a princess, produce at least one worthy heir to the kingdom, and rule the lands until he died. Reiner despaired at the thought of his future. How cruel of fate to let him be born into this responsibility. Surely, he could marry a princess, perhaps he could learn to love dearly as a friend, maybe even a partner in life. But Reiner also knew that he could never do that to a princess. She deserved the same happiness that he craved himself. Time and again, he cried his despair to his mother. A cousin could take his place, an uncle, another distant relative, anyone indeed, but each time the mother Queen denied his every plea.
One morning, the mother Queen proudly announced that Reiner was to marry princess Historia in four nights.
“But mother!” he cried. “I want to marry to love, and I can not ever love her!”
“I care not!” said the mother Queen, chin held high. “You shall marry to the duty of your station and your responsibility to this kingdom.”
“But mother!”
The mother Queen rose from her chair and slammed her hands into the table. “You shall perform your duty, or you shall be cursed until someone finds you worthy of that love you seek so desperately.”
A curse? But what would be the difference between living a loveless life or resume his cursed existence? Because surely, he must be cursed to have been born into this responsibility, as the person he were. With resolve in his heart, and reassurance that things could not get worse than what was ahead, Reiner for once in his life, Reiner rose from his seat and stood tall.
“No, mother!” he bellowed. “I’d rather be cursed, than to continue living this life of despair.”
Those were the last words he spoke before the world around him grew enormous, and his once strong voice dwindled into nothing but the hoarse croaks of a toad. A narrow escape saved him from the stomping boot of the mother Queen. Hopping his way through the castle, Reiner fled for his life. He hopped and hopped until his froggy legs could hop no more. Finally free, finally safe, Reiner lifted his head and looked around. In front of him, a bog stretched as far as his eyes could see, which from his new vantage point truly wasn’t far. Looking down, green skin and buggy eyes stared back at him. A frog?
Reiner blinked, and his froggy self blinked back at him. Still, Reiner the frog could only smile. This was no curse, he thought. Because how could a frog in a bog not be happy?
For the longest time, Reiner enjoyed his time in the bog. Here he had peace, and could sit around on the water lilies and bask in the sun as much as he wanted. But one day, his peace was disturbed. Through the bog came a man, walking like he owned the place. Tall, handsome and muscular was the man, and Reiner stared in awe a moment too long as the man laid eyes on him. Long fingers grabbed his body, but for once, luck was on Reiner’s side, and he wriggled his way out of the hands and dove into his beloved bog while ignoring the calls of the man. He had finally found peace in his life, and no man, no matter how handsome, should be allowed to take that from him.
But the man was persistent, bordering on stubborn, Reiner supposed. For fourteen days and fourteen nights, the chase went on, until finally the man succeeded his quest. No wriggling or croaking could free him from this predicament, and for a moment Reiner thought that maybe this was the real curse.
“Got you!” the man exclaimed with joyous glee in his voice. “You’ll be the pride of my collection, my toady friend!”
Reiner voiced his protest in loud croaks, but to no avail. Pushing against the hands with his froggy little front legs was of no success either. He was utterly stuck and helpless as he was brought closer to the face of the man, who studied him closely.
“You were a challenge, but absolutely worth the effort, my fine little frog!”
Reiner closed his eyes as he moved closer to the lips, but suddenly, he was hanging in thin air. With a loud splash, he dropped into the bog and once he resurfaced, the man was gone. In front of him was a hamster. A round, wet, and clearly disgruntled looking hamster was staring down at him from the edge of the bog.
“You did this to me!” it squeaked.
“You did this to yourself,” Reiner countered, once again proudly standing his ground. “Had you not disturbed my peace, you would not find yourself in this situation.”
“What am I supposed to do with this?” the hamster despaired.
“Find peace,” Reiner offered, as that had been what he had done.
“There is no peace in a bog! Bogs are disgusting. I was rather looking forward to leaving this forsaken place and bring you home.”
“There is plenty of peace in this bog! Peace is why I made it my home,” Reiner argued, but only to receive an indignant huff from the hamster. Feeling sorry for the soaked creature in front of him, Reiner proposed a compromise to the disgruntled rodent. “I will show you three things worth enjoying in this bog.”
Another huff, and the hamster crossed his stubby front legs over his chest. “There cannot be a single thing to enjoy, living in a bog. Much less three.”
“You are a hamster,” Reiner said bluntly. “What do you stand to lose by trying?”
And thus it began. On the first day, Reiner had to poke the hamster awake. Curled up in a little nest of grass, the furry creature was absolutely adorable in sleep, but the beautiful image was soon ruined by a cranky attitude as soon as the hamster awoke. The hamster, Reiner learned, was also a prince, and his name was Jean. Once awake, and it took a while, Jean followed Reiner to the water lilies. But Jean was not impressed. His short little hamster legs could not get him to the floating leaf, and soon he was soaked again. Reiner sighed as he watched Jean fume on the edge of the bog, wet and miserable. How was he supposed to have known that hamsters couldn’t jump? Or swim. Regardless, the lilies were no success, and Jean spent the rest of the day curled up in his little hamster nest, purposefully ignoring Reiner.
On the second day, Reiner brought Jean to his favourite spot. A little patch of water disconnected from the bog, where mosquitoes lived the good life and multiplied as fast as they could. A true feast. Surely, Jean would appreciate that. But as soon as they had arrived, the small insects swarmed poor Jean, and left the hamster covered in bites. But how was Reiner supposed to know that hamsters did not eat mosquitoes? Or that fuzzy creatures like Jean appeared to be their favourite meal?
On the third day, Reiner nursed Jean. In the bog he collected some cool slime to soothe the itching, and in the nearby field, he collected some wild grains for Jean to eat. A few wild corn flowers made it into the mix, and Reiner learned that the blue ones were Jean’s favourite. And thus he spent the day collecting little things to ease Jean’s discomfort. Still, he realised that he was failing to prove his point that the bog was a place of peace and comfort.
On the fourth day, Jean did not want to leave his nest, but Reiner refused to give up. Working all day, and all night, and the following day as well, he only let himself be distracted to care for Jean, who remained curled up in his little nest. And on the fifth evening, Reiner insisted.
“There’s no joy in this forsaken place! Leave me to perish.” Jean complained when Reiner nudged his soft hamster side.
“But Jean, I have found something you will like!” Reiner pleaded, but to no avail.
“I don’t believe it.”
“Jean, you have been in your nest for two whole days! It’s not good for you.” Those words seemed to get through to Jean, but Reiner was soon disappointed.
The cute little hamster eyes that met his were full of judgment as Jean challenged his statement. “This bog is not good for me!” he hissed, but soon after he was betrayed by his growling stomach. “You haven’t brought me food!” he accused. “You want me to be miserable, you do.”
“Come on, Jean, the place I want to show you has food,” Reiner argued, flapping his little froggy front legs in the air in exasperation. “I’m sure you’ll like it.”
For a moment, Jean stubbornly curled up once more, and Reiner nearly despaired. But then Jean’s tummy growled again, and he finally left his little nest with a deep, exasperated sigh. Reiner’s froggy little heart leapt with joy. In pure excitement, he hopped backwards as he led Jean to the spot he had chosen for his final attempt at convincing Jean that the bog could indeed be a place of comfort and peace. So joyful he was, that he could not bother with the way Jean showed no interest at all as he followed because he did follow, and for now, that was what mattered the most.
As they travelled through the bog, the dusk began to creep in on them, and Jean expressed his worry with soft, wee rodent sounds while his stubby, little legs carried him forward. But Reiner had no concerns. He knew the bog was safe.
“We’ll be there in a hop, Jean! Come on,” he urged, pleased when Jean kept following.
Finally, they reached their destination. A small patch of grass in the bog stretched in front of them. In the gras, various mushrooms popped up, creating an uneven forrest of shadows and colours in the fading light. In the middle of the patch, two mushrooms rose just slightly above the rest, and that was where Reiner was leading Jean. Around the mushrooms, increasingly smaller mushrooms created a little stairway up to the two large ones, and Reiner eagerly led Jean to them.
But to Reiner’s despair, even the shortest of the mushrooms was too tall for Jean’s stubby legs, and Jean grumbled, not impressed by Reiner’s efforts. Determined to prove his bog to Jean, Reiner made a decision. Hopping over behind Jean, Reiner put his froggy legs to the task, and pushed Jean onto the first little mushroom step. With great effort from Reiner, and even greater complaints from Jean, they finally made it to the top. And at last, Jean’s complaints dwindled and disappeared. With a long leap, Reiner hopped to the other mushroom and proudly assessed his work. On Jean’s mushroom, a feast of his favourite corn flowers and grains were arranged on little leaves was accompanied by a cup of water served in an acorn from a water oak. Around them, fireflies danced with joy, lighting up the night around them.
But then Reiner’s heart sank. In Jean’s water, a single firefly had decided to land, and Reiner knew that Jean would be displeased. Not even the shooting stars that began to fly across the sky above them could lift his mood. Clutching the little pimpernel he had carefully picked out to give Jean, he readied himself for the gripe, but nothing came! Finding his bravery at last, Reiner dared a look at Jean. He had expected the grumpy hamster he had got to know over the past few days. But what he got was a tiny, little hamster paw, tentatively held out to him, clutching the firefly.
“There’s no food on your mushroom,” said Jean, and Reiner’s froggy little heart swelled with joy as he shot his tongue out and snatched the fly up. The disgusted exclamation he should have expected, but he quickly held out the pimpernel and took two tiny hops to the side to get close enough for Jean to reach it, hoping to appease the grumpy hamster. The flower was plucked from his hand, and Reiner blinked as the hamster nose pressed against his mouth. But before Reiner could take any time to appreciate it, the sound of smashed mushrooms filled the air and two men were now sitting side by side on a little patch of grass in a bog, under the shooting stars.
“You are a man!” Jean exclaimed while Reiner was still examining his hands.
“I am a prince, Jean. Just like you,” he answered after a while, still overwhelmed with the change.
“Of a bog?”
“No. Of a kingdom, of course.”
“But why are you here, then?” Jean inquired, leaning in close to Reiner.
“There was no love for me in my kingdom,” explained Reiner, looking up at Jean at last.
“How can there be no love in a kingdom for a man who could show me that even a bog holds joy and tranquil?” Jean questioned, but Reiner had no answer to that.
“I cannot know. All I have left is the bog.”
“Nonsense!” Jean cried, and Reiner could not object before lips were on his in a kiss.
“You must come with me, for my kingdom holds nothing but love, and my mother, the Queen, will welcome and feed you, just as you did to me here in your humble bog.”
And thus Reiner followed Jean to his kingdom. And just as promised, Reiner was welcomed, and fed by the mother Queen, happy to have her only son back. Together, Reiner and Jean ruled the kingdom with gentle hands. They were loved by the people, and admired by other kingdoms, and from that day on, they lived happily ever after.
The end.