The Best English Fairy Tales / Лучшие английские сказки

”

“All right,” said the girl, “What can a frog do to me?”

So she went back to her stepmother, and brought the sieve full of water from the Well of the World’s End. The stepmother was angry, but she said nothing at all.

That very evening they heard something tap-tapping at the door low down, and a voice cried out:

“Open the door,

my heart,

Open the door,

my darling;

Mind you the words

that you and I spoke,

Down in the meadow,

at the World’s End Well.”

“What is it?” cried out the stepmother, and the girl told her everything, and what she had promised the frog.

“Girls must keep their promises[10 - Girls must keep their promises – Девочки должны сдерживать свои обещания],” said the stepmother. “Go and open the door!” She was glad the girl would serve a nasty frog.

So the girl went and opened the door, and there was the frog from the Well of the World’s End. And it jumped and reached the girl, and then it said:

“Lift me to your knee,

my heart;

Lift me to your knee,

my darling;

Remember the words

you and I spoke,

By the World’s

End Well.

But the girl didn’t like to do it. Her stepmother said: “Lift it up! Girls must keep their promises!”

So finally she lifted the frog up on to her lap, and it lay there for a time. At last it said:

“Give me some supper,

my heart,

Give me some supper,

my darling;

Remember the words

you and I spoke,

By the Well

of the World’s End.

Well, she didn’t mind doing that, so she got it a bowl of milk and bread. She fed the frog well. And when the frog finished, it said:

“Go with me to bed,

my heart,

Go with me to bed,

my darling;

Mind you the words

you spoke to me,

Down by the cold well,

so weary.”

But that the girl didn’t want to do that. But her stepmother said: “Do what you promised, girl! Girls must keep their promises.

So the girl took the frog with her to bed, and kept it as far away from her as she could. In the morning, the frog said:

“Chop off my head,

my heart,

Chop off my head,

my darling;

Remember the promise

you made to me,

Down by the cold well,

so weary.”

At first the girl wouldn’t do that. She felt sorry for the frog. It helped her at the Well of the World’s End and was not a bad frog at all.