World classic, retold in simple Mandarin
The Frog Prince
青蛙王子
The Frog Prince (青蛙王子, Qīngwā wángzǐ) is a fairy tale by Brothers Grimm, retold in simple Mandarin as a 3-chapter story with audio for learners at about HSK 1 (Beginner).
Retold from the Brothers Grimm fairy tale: a princess loses her golden ball in a well, and a talking frog makes her a promise she does not want to keep.
Meet the voices
- Narrator · 旁白 — A warm older storyteller, like a grandfather by the fire.
- The Princess · 公主 — A spirited young princess who loves her golden ball and speaks before she thinks.
- The Frog · 青蛙 — A polite, patient frog who never forgets a promise.
- The Prince · 王子 — The kind young prince who was cursed to be a frog.
- The King · 国王 — The princess's kind father, who believes a promise must be kept.
- Henry · 亨利 — The prince's loyal servant with three iron bands around his chest.
3 chapters, one journey
Chapter 1: The Golden Ball
金球掉了
A princess loses her golden ball in a deep well, and a talking frog offers a deal. She says yes, but does she mean it? That evening, someone knocks at the door.
Free to read
Chapter 2: A Promise Is a Promise
说话要算话
The king says the princess must keep her word, and the frog wants dinner and a bed. Then she throws him at the wall, and something amazing happens.
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Chapter 3: Faithful Henry
忠心的亨利
A loyal friend arrives with a carriage and strange iron bands around his chest. On the road home, something snaps.
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Key words in The Frog Prince
Behind the story
This story comes from the Brothers Grimm, two German scholars who collected old folk tales and published them in 1812. In the Grimm version the frog is called the Frog King, and it is the very first tale in their collection.
Chinese readers know the Grimm tales as 格林童话, and many grow up reading them in translation and in school. In this old telling the frog does not need a kiss: the spell breaks when the princess keeps her promise, in her own rough way, and the loyal servant Henry is the heart of the ending.
Did you know?
- The Grimm brothers first printed this tale in 1812, and it opens their famous collection of children's and household stories.
- In the original Grimm version there is no kiss; the frog turns into a prince after the princess throws him against the wall.
- Faithful Henry wears three iron bands around his heart because he was so sad, and they snap one by one when he is happy again.