The Frog that Wore a Wig

There's this random question on my profile that said something like "The children are waiting! Tell them a story about the frog that wore a wig." It doesn't fit in the profile box, so here is my cheesey story:

In a distant land a pond sits safely under the shade of a gigantic weeping willow. Not far from the spot lives a handsome young man named Echo, whose voice springs life and a heavenly night. Echo had invented music. His talent was a gift bestowed upon him by the gods as a payment for taking his parents to the celestial heavens the day he was born. The gods worried that Echo would never experience love and gave him one gift. They said, “To you we give the voices of sirens sweet, embracing every heart you meet.” The gods had hoped that one day their gift would find him true love. As granted, the ladies swooned every time he sang. One day, a royal carriage visited his pond, and dropped off a royal invitation. “The Royal Family requests your presence to sing at the royal ball,” the invitation read. Echo accepted the invitation with great anticipation. To sing before the royal family! He thought, what an honor!

The night of his performance, Echo caught a glimpse of the beautiful princess, Halcyone, the daughter of Sartorious the King, and Celia the Queen. Halcyone’s hair was black as ebony. Her deep black eyes penetrated Echo’s heart which fluttered between illusion and reality, giving him pain that both caused him longing and mysterious enchantment. Echo sought Halcyone’s beauty. He met her alone in the garden after his performance in secret for it was forbidden for a commoner to speak to the princess. “Meet me beyond the hill and across the prairie,” he said. “There you’ll find a pond and a weeping willow. I’ll wait for you there all night.” With that, he took her hand to his lips, gently kissed it, and walked away.

The next night, the gods put up the stars. Echo waited for Halcyone in the quiet moonlight next to the silvery pond. Every night in secret, the two lovers met. Everyday, they waited impatiently for the sun to go down beneath the waters and the night to rise up from them. One night Sartorious the King became suspicious of Halcyone’s nightly trips. He followed her to the lovers’ accustomed meeting place and became enraged with anger. No commoner deserves the love of his daughter the princess, he thought. Sartorious the King sought to punish Echo. The following night, he went to the lovers’ pond before Halcyone arrived and faced Echo. “You do not deserve my daughter’s love!” he said forcefully. "You are not of royal blood!" And before, Echo could say anything, Sartorious the King, who possessed magical powers chanted a powerful spell. “Eleka nahmen ah tum ah tum eleka nahmen,” he said. “Let his voice croak! Let him never speak to my daughter again! Let him never be seen by Halcyone! Let him never experience her love! Let him live the rest of his mortal life in this pond! LET HIM SUFFER FOREVER!!!" And, with that Echo transformed into a bald frog.

Halcyone met Echo that night seeking for her lover beneath the beams of the dim and melancholy night. But, Echo was no where to be found. A frog croaked in the distance, but Halcyone didn’t even notice. She fled, trembling and weeping wondering what she did that made Echo abandon her. The next full moon and every night thereafter Halcyone arrived at the lake alone. Halcyone was once again disappointed. She spoke to the stars hoping Echo would hear, “What have I done to deserve this? Echo where are you?” All the creatures slept and not a breath stirred the waters, and all was still except for one lone frog who croaked…

Echo sat on the ground close to Halcyone, and said, “I am right here. If you only look hard enough…I’m right here every night.” He hopped close to Halcyone and stole a snippet of her ebony hair and kept it as his wig.

Years passed and Halcyone had given up meeting Echo next to the silvery pond. Yet, every night Echo lived his curse in grief, waiting for Halcyone, hanging on to her black locks. The gods looked upon him with pity, but they could not reverse the mortal king's choice. For mortals in this world are always granted a choice whether right or wrong.