040. The Frog Girlfriend (La Novia Rana)
Well, sir, it’s said that once upon a time, on a farm in the countryside there was a happily married couple; the two spouses loved each other very much and lived comfortably off the produce of their land, but they had no children.
And this distressed them [greatly] and time continued to pass by, [when] one day the woman was fed up and said:
As long as I [get to] have children, I wouldn’t care if they were frogs or snakes!
And it [so] happened that, nine months after uttering such nonsense, the woman gave birth to a little frog and a little snake. The little snake, as soon as it was born, went to a large lake situated in the mountains, but the frog remained behind and her parents raised it with much attention and affection.
One day the frog was hopping around the house and her mother said to her:
It’s such a pity that you are a frog because you cannot help me with tasks in the kitchen, which are overwhelming me; and then I have to [also] take food to your father in the field, which in all other houses are done by their daughters.
And the frog said excitedly:
Did you say that I’m not good enough to bring food to my father? Well, go ahead and put everything in the basket, and you’ll see if I can take it to him or not.
And so she got to take the basket to her father, and the frog was most happy [for having the chance to do so]; she was so happy that she was singing the entire way back, and the truth is that her singing was very pleasant to listen to.
On that day a certain hunter happened to be in that same area and when he heard the frog, he went after her, captivated by her singing; and he followed her for such a long time that he arrived with her at her house. The mother, who saw them coming from the kitchen window, went outside with the baking shovel and said to the hunter threateningly:
Do yourself a favor and leave immediately, for nobody makes fun of my frog daughter!
because she believed that he followed her to make fun of her. But the hunter returned the next day with the best of intentions and asked to see the frog and became her boyfriend.
The hunter happened to be one of the king’s two sons, and the two were twins. The king had to decide which of the two sons would become his successor, because when they were born no one took care to note down who was born first between the two, and so he could not determine who was the [true] heir to the throne.
Then after much thought, he resolved one day to call for his two sons and proposed the following to them:
As you [both] well know that I cannot appoint an heir through natural designs, so I have decided to give you a test: you have to bring me three exceptional items, in which your girlfriends are to help you with [in obtaining them], and the person who brings the best three, he will be the heir to the throne.
And he added:
The first item that you have to bring me is a vase that has no equals in the world.
He who was the frog’s boyfriend was crestfallen, thinking that the girlfriend of his brother, who was the daughter of the greatest goldsmith in the kingdom, would obtain the best vase for his brother, because the frog could do little to help him in this difficult situation. But he went and told the frog his problem anyway.
Then the frog told him to not worry, for she would obtain the vase for him. She called for the rooster from the pen, got on him and told him to carry her to the lake in the mountains. She went there riding the rooster through the air, and it left her by the shore of the lake. Then the frog cried out:
Little snake! Sister!
Soon, the little snake poked its head out of the water and said:
Who is calling for me?
And she replied:
Your little sister the frog.
The little snake was overjoyed to see her sister and the latter told her what was happening with the prince and that he needed a vase so unique and beautiful that it had no equals in the world. Then the little snake dove into the lake and reappeared with a most beautiful vase, and she said:
Take this with you, for it is the vase which I drink from.
The frog thanked her, returned with the vase and gave it to the prince, who ran with it back to the palace where his brother also gave the king his [own vase]; and the king took them both and said:
Now you will have to bring me a silk tapestry embroidered in gold.
He went to see the frog and told her about what the king wanted this time, and the frog said again that he needed not worry, for she would give him the tapestry that he wanted. She called for the rooster from the pen, climbed up on his back and told him to carry her to the lake in the mountains.
So she traveled there once more riding on the rooster through the air, who again dropped her off by the [lake]shore.
Little snake! Sister!
Who is calling for me?
It’s me, your little sister the frog.
What do you want now?
A silk tapestry embroidered in gold, but it has to be the most beautiful with no equals in the world.
The little snake dove into the lake and reappeared with a most beautiful tapestry, and she said to her:
Take this back, for it is the bedspread with which I sleep on.
The frog gave this to the prince and he, being very happy and greatly amazed, hastened to take it back to his father.
And the father said:
This is the third and last request: since they had aided you so well, bring your girlfriends to the palace so we can see which [among them two] is the most beautiful.
The poor prince was devastated, as he knew that the goldsmith’s daughter was a very beautiful girl and his girlfriend, on the other hand, was a frog, so he thought that he would not tell her [about this latest request]; but he also thought: “Well, it costs me nothing to go see her and tell her what is happening.” So he went and said to her:
Aye, my poor girlfriend, this time the king asked that I bring you to the palace to see which among the two girlfriends is the more beautiful!
And the frog said to him:
Then, will you abandon me for you no longer love me?
And the prince replied:
It is not true, that I love you [very much].
And she asked:
Do you love me [enough] so you will marry me?
And he replied:
Yes, [enough] to marry you.
Then go to the shore of the lake situated in the mountains and wait for me there.
As soon as the prince was gone, the frog mounted on the rooster and went flying toward the lake shore, before the prince arrived there. And she went and called to her sister:
Little snake! Sister!
Who is calling me?
Your little sister, the frog.
What do you want now?
[Nguyen: hehe, looks like the snake is getting impatient after all these requests.]
A carriage with four horses, the most elegant and luxurious there is, for I have to go to the palace with my boyfriend, the prince; and moreover, I want you to accompany us.
A carriage drawn by four white horses with silver harness immediately came out from the water, and the carriage was ivory white. And it was at this time that the prince arrived, and he was amazed upon seeing this wonder; and the frog and the snake climbed up the carriage and the prince preceded them on the way back to the palace.
When they arrived at the palace, everyone was [already] waiting for them there and, as they entered the avenue leading to the palace, the frog dropped her handkerchief outside [the carriage]. The prince jumped off his horse and got down to pick it up, and when he approached the frog to return it to her, he saw with surprise that there was a beautiful girl sitting inside the carriage.
And the girl said to him:
Don’t be surprised, for I, at birth, was transformed into a frog due to a curse that had befallen on my mother, and I would not be able to break free of it until I encounter a man who wants to marry me. Now that I have found him, I am returning to my true form and my name is Maria.
Everyone at court was amazed to see such a luxurious carriage arriving [at the palace], and was even more amazed upon gazing at the beautiful girlfriend. And the king held a banquet to all present, before they deliberated on which of the two brothers had best fulfilled the tests given to them.
Then the other brother said to his girlfriend, the daughter of the elder goldsmith:
You will do everything that my brother’s girlfriend does!
for thus he made sure that neither would stand out from the other in this critical situation.
The banquet started and, from each dish that was served, Maria poured a spoonful in an earthenware bowl that she had on her lap; the silversmith’s daughter, who saw her did this, did the same [thing]. At the end of the banquet, Maria took the food that she had put away in the bowl and threw handfuls [of them] on the king and all the invited guests, and these handfuls of food were transformed into flowers of all colors, which fell on them.
[Nguyen: for some reason the goldsmith became the silversmith here…]
On seeing this, the goldsmith’s daughter got up and did the same thing, but the food did not turn into flowers and all the guests were covered in grease.
At last, the king asked the court to give their opinion on the three things that each brother had brought, and they all decided that the most unique and precious were those brought by Maria’s boyfriend. And the king named him his heir and within a week the prince and Maria got married to the satisfaction of everyone. And the next day the other brother married the daughter of the elder goldsmith and they all lived happily [from then on], and the king with them.
And the little snake, seeing that everything had turned out so well, left her sister the vase and the tapestry as a wedding gift, [and] turned around and returned to the lake in the carriage. And they say that she still lives there [today], hoping that, as had happened to her sister, a man will want to marry her.
And that is all [to this story], as I still have to go to the lake to see if it is true.
—– VOCABULARY —–
Amenazante – threatening, menacing
Animosa – spirited, brave, gallant
Anotar – to note down, to make note of
Apenarse – (to be grieved) to be sorry; to be upset; to be distressed
Asomar – to stick out, to pop out
Avenida – (wide street) avenue
Burlarse – to mock, to tease
Cariacontecido – down in the mouth; crestfallen
Colcha – bedspread
Con tal de – as long as; (in order to) to
Contemplar – to gaze at, to observe, to contemplate
Corral – (animal enclosure) pen, farmyard
Cucharada – spoonful, tablespoon
Cuenco – earthenware bowl; bowl
Darse media vuelta – turn around
Desolado – (deserted) desolate; (afflicted) devastated
Devolverse – to give back, to return
Diría – I’d say, you’d say, s/he’d say
Disparate – (absurdity) nonsense
Durante – (over a period of time) during, in, for (before a specific period of time)
Entregar – to submit, to give, to deliver
Finca – (rural real estate) country house, ranch
Gallo – rooster
Gemelo – twin, identical twin
Guarnición – (ornament) adornment
Hechizar – to cast a spell on, to bewitch; to captivate, to enchant
Heredero – heir
Hermosísima – very pretty, very beautiful
Holgadamente – comfortably
Marfil – ivory
Ocuparse de – to tackle, to deal with; to look after, to take care of
Orfebre – silversmith; goldsmith
Pala – shovel
Pañuelo – handkerchief
Parecer – (view) opinion; (to give an impression) to seem
Pena – pity, shame
Pero de todas formas – but, but anyway, anyway
Plata – silver
Platero – silversmith
Portento – (phenomenon) marvel, wonder
Pringar – (to make dirty) to make greasy; (to sprinkle) to splash
Puesto que – since
Puñado – handful, fistful
Rana – frog
Regazo – (anatomy) lap
Seda – silk
Semejante – (of such degree) such; (mathematics) similar; (fellow human) fellow being)
Singular – (being the only one) unique
Sirvo – good
Sobresalir – (to be different from) to stand out; (to surpass others) to stand out;
Sumegirse – to dive, to submerge
Tapiz – tapestry, wall hanging
Tarea – work, task, job
Tirar – (to draw nearer) to pull
Trance – difficult situation
Trono – throne