green fairy tale book

Chapter 29 Toad
Once upon a time there was a poor woman who had a little daughter named Parsley.She got that name because parsley is her favorite food.In fact, she eats almost nothing but parsley.The poor woman didn't have enough money to buy parsley for her daughter every day, but her daughter was so beautiful and cute that she couldn't bear to refuse any request from her daughter.So she went to the garden of an old witch nearby every night and secretly picked this mouth-watering vegetable to satisfy her daughter.

People soon learned of the unusual hobby of parsley, and the old witch also discovered the stealing behavior of the poor woman, so she called the poor woman and proposed to let her daughter live with her, so that she could do as she pleased. I ate parsley.The poor woman was overjoyed, so the beautiful girl Parsley moved into the old witch's house.

One day, three princes, who were sent by their father to travel, passed by this town. They happened to see this beautiful girl combing her long black hair by the window.In an instant, they both fell hopelessly in love with her at the same time, and both desperately wanted to marry the girl.The three princes said this idea with one voice, and at the same time they became angry with each other and hated each other.So they drew out their swords at the same time and rushed at each other, determined to fight to the death.They fought so furiously that even the old Witch heard their swearing and the clanging of swords."It's definitely because of the parsley," she said.

Convinced of this, the old witch came out.This quarrel over Parsley's beauty made her extremely angry.She cursed Parsley, "I wish you would turn into an ugly toad and sit under a bridge on the other side of the world."

As soon as the words fell, Xiangxian turned into a toad and disappeared from their sight in a blink of an eye.

As the parsley disappeared and the princes calmed down their anger, they put away their swords, embraced each other affectionately, and returned together to their father.

Their father was old and feeble, and longed to pass his crown and scepter to one of his three sons, but did not know which son to name as his successor.So he decided to let fate make the choice for him.He called his three sons to him and said to them: "Dear children, I am old and tired of government, but now I cannot decide which of you will inherit my crown, because I respect each of you." I love every child equally. But at the same time, I also want the best and brightest of you to rule over my people. So I decided to give you three tasks, and whoever completes the best will win Be my heirs. The first thing I want you to do, is find me a sheaf of flax a hundred yards long, thin enough to go through a gold ring."

The three sons bowed to the king, assured them that they would do what they could, and set off without delay.

The eldest prince and the second prince brought many followers and chariots, but the little prince went on the road alone.Not long after, they came to a three-way intersection.Two of the roads were brightly lit and crowded with people; while the other was dark and dark, with few people.The eldest prince and the second prince chose the two lively paths.The little prince bid them farewell, and set foot on the deserted road alone.

The first and second princes raided all the places that sold flax along the way, stuffed their carriage with the best flax they could find, and went straight home.And what about the little prince?For many days he walked along that deserted road, but there was no chance of finding flax, so he went on, with a heavy heart at every step.At last he came to a bridge.The bridge was over a deep river with flat swamps on both sides.Before crossing the bridge, he sat on the bank and bemoaned his fate.Suddenly an ugly toad crawled out of the swamp.Toad sat opposite the little prince and asked him, "What's the matter with you, my dear Prince?"

The Prince replied impatiently, "It's no use telling you, Toad, because you can't help me."

"Don't be so sure," said Toad, "tell me your troubles first."

The Prince thought it would be all right to tell Toad about it, so he told the whole thing.

"Prince, I will help you." Saying this, Toad crawled back to her swamp, and after a while, she came back with a length of flax no longer than a finger.She put the flax before the prince and said, "Take it home, it will help you."

The prince didn't want to take the humble flax away, but he didn't want to hurt the toad's heart, so he took the flax, put it in his pocket, and said goodbye to the little toad.Toad watched the Prince's back until he was out of sight, and then slowly crawled back into the swamp.

As the prince walked, he felt that the flax in his pocket became heavier, and his mood became more and more excited.So he returned to his father's country, arriving at the palace just at the same time as his brothers' caravan.The king was so glad to see them that he took off his ring at once, and began to judge their achievements.The first and second princes brought back dozens of carts of flax, but none of the bunches could pass more than one-tenth of them through the king's ring.The eldest prince and the second prince were still laughing at their younger brother for returning empty-handed, but at this moment they couldn't help feeling ashamed.At this moment, the little prince took out a bundle of fine, soft and impeccably pure flax from his pocket—just imagine the feelings of the eldest prince and the second prince!

The flax thread, so thin that it is almost invisible to the naked eye, passed easily through the ring, and was exactly a hundred yards long!

The old king embraced his lucky young son, and ordered that all the rest of the flax be thrown into the river.Then, turning to his children, he said: "Now, dear Princes, prepare for the second task. You must find me a puppy, small enough to fit in a nutshell."

The three princes were disappointed to hear this bizarre request, but since they all wanted to be heirs to the throne, they were all determined to do their best.So within a few days, the three princes embarked on a journey again.

At the fork in the road, they parted ways again.The little prince still walked on that deserted road alone.But this time he was in a much happier mood.A few days later he came to the river again.No sooner had he sat down under the bridge and sighed than Little Toad crawled out of the swamp and sat opposite him and asked, "What's the matter with you, dear Prince?"

This time the little prince did not dare to underestimate the little toad, and he immediately told her the difficulties he encountered.

"Prince, I will help you." Saying that, Little Toad crawled back to the swamp as fast as he could.After a while, she came back dragging a hazelnut.She put the hazelnut before the prince and said, "Take this hazelnut home! Let your father crack the shell carefully and see what happens."

The little prince thanked her sincerely, and then he set foot on the way home in good spirits, while the little toad slowly crawled back into the swamp.

When the little prince returned home, his two older brothers had just returned.The king had the nut shells ready, and the judging began.Although the eldest prince and the second prince each brought back dozens of carts of various puppies, none of them could fit into the king's walnut shell.When they had tried all the puppies, the little prince handed his hazelnuts to the old king, bowed deeply, and begged the old king to crack open the hazelnuts as carefully as possible.

As soon as the old king broke the shell of the hazelnut, out of the hazelnut jumped out a very small and lovely puppy.It ran up and down on the king's hand, wagging its tail, and barking furiously at the other puppies.The officials of the Manchu Dynasty were all teased to lean forward and backward.Once again the old king embraced the lucky young son.Then he said to his sons: "You have fulfilled the two most difficult tasks. Now listen carefully to the third and last task: whichever of you comes home with the most beautiful wife, he will be my heir."

The little prince was very depressed.He said to himself, "Little Toad can help me with anything else, but this is beyond her power. How can she find me a beautiful wife? Her swamp is so large and empty." , no humans live there at all, only frogs, toads, and the like.” Nevertheless, he sat under the bridge as he had done the previous two times, and this time he let out a sigh from the bottom of his heart.

A few minutes later, Toad asked him again: "What is the matter with you, dear Prince?"

"Oh, Toad, you can't help me this time, because the task is beyond your powers," said the little prince.

"But," said Toad, "you can still tell me your problems, and who knows if I can help you this time?"

So the little prince told her the new mission.

"I will help you and satisfy you, my dear prince." Little Toad said, "You go home now, and I will follow you right away." Saying that, unlike the usual slow look, Little Toad was very happy. Jump into the swamp and disappear.

The prince stood up, and sadly set foot on his way home, because he did not believe that the little toad could really help him through the difficulties before him.After walking a few steps, he heard a sound behind him. He looked around and found a small carriage coming behind him.The carriage was made of cardboard and pulled by six large mice.Two little hedgehogs rode in front of the mouse, like cavalry clearing the way; a fat mouse was sitting on the carriage, which should be the driver; two little frogs stood behind the carriage, looking like two followers.Little Toad was sitting in the carriage himself, and as the carriage passed by the Prince, Little Toad blew him a kiss through the window.But the prince was so absorbed in deep thought that he didn't pay attention to this ridiculous little carriage. Although the appearance of the little carriage was very funny, the little prince was in such a bad mood that he couldn't laugh.He sighed at the impermanence of fate: Since God has already fulfilled his two wishes, why should he let him fail in the last and most important task?
The little carriage passed the Prince, went on, and turned a corner.In the blink of an eye, the little prince was surprised to find that a magnificent carriage was driving towards him from the same corner.It is drawn by six tall horses, and in front of the cart are trail cavalry in beautiful uniforms, drivers, attendants, and several servants.In the carriage sat the most beautiful woman the prince had ever seen in his life, and the little prince recognized her at once as the beautiful Miss Parsley, for his heart had been kindled with love for her.The carriage stopped beside him, and two attendants jumped out and opened the door for him.The prince sat down beside the beautiful parsley, thanked her heartily for her help, and told her how much he loved her.

In this way, he returned to the capital of the kingdom, and at the same time, his brothers also returned here with dozens of cars of beauties.But when they were all brought before the king, the Manchu officials agreed with one voice that the little prince's fiancée was the most famous.

The old king was overjoyed, and embraced his lucky young son again, and tenderly embraced his daughter-in-law, and made them his heirs.Soon after, the little prince married Miss Parsley and ruled their country happily ever after.I think if they are not dead, they should still be living happily together now.

(End of this chapter)