Once Upon a Business – Episode 102
The Frog Prince
Lisa Bloom: One fine evening, a young princess put on her bonnet and clogs and went out to take a walk by herself in a wood. And when she came to a cool spring of water that rose in the midst of it, she sat herself down to rest a while. Now she had a golden ball in her hand, which was her favorite plaything, and she was always tossing it up into the air and catching it again as it fell. After a time, she threw it up so high that she missed catching it as it fell, and the ball bounded away and rolled along upon the ground till at last it fell down into the spring.
Hi, I’m Lisa Bloom, the story coach, and you’re listening to Once Upon a Business. In each episode, we explore a story a a fairy tale, folk tale, or traditional story so that we can discover the amazing lessons relevant for business and for entrepreneurs.
The princess looked into the spring after her ball, but it was very deep. So deep that she could not see the bottom of it. Then she began to bewail her loss and said, alas, if I could only get my ball again, I would give all my fine clothes and jewels and everything that I have in the world. While she was speaking, a frog put its head out of the water and said, princess, why do you weep so bitterly? Alas, said she, what can you do for me, you nasty frog? My golden ball has fallen into the spring. The frog said, I want not your pearls and jewels and fine clothes, but if you will love me and let me live with you and eat from your golden plate and sleep upon your bed, I will bring you your ball again.
What nonsense. Thought the princess. This silly frog is talking. He can never get out of the spring to visit me, though he may be able to get my ball for me, and therefore I will tell him he shall have what he asks. So she said to the frog, well, if you’ll bring me my ball, I’ll do all you ask. Then the frog put his head down and dived deep under the water. And after a little while, he came up again with the ball in his mouth and threw it on the edge of the spring. As soon as the princess saw her ball, she ran to pick it up. She was so overjoyed to have it in her hand again that she never thought of the frog, but ran home with it as fast as she could. The frog called after her, stay, Princess, and take me with you, as you said. But she did not stop to hear a word.
The next day, just as the princess had sat down to dinner, she heard a strange noise as if something was coming up the marble staircase.And soon afterwards there was a gentle knock at the door, and a little voice cried out and said, open the door, my princess dear, open the door to thy true love here, and mind the words that thou and I said by the fountain cool in the greenwood shade. Then the princess ran to the door and opened it, and there she saw the frog, whom she had quite forgotten. At this sight she was sadly frightened, and shutting the door as fast as she could, came back to her seat.
The king, her father, seeing that something had frightened her, asked her what was the matter. There’s a nasty frog, said she at the door, that lifted my bow for me out of the spring yesterday. I told him that he should live with me here, thinking that he could never get out of the spring. But there he is at the door, and he wants to come in. While she was speaking, the frog knocked again at the door and said, open the door, my princess dear, open the door to thy true love here, and mind the words that thou and I said by the fountain cool in the greenwood shade. Then the king said to the young princess, as you have given your words, you must keep it so, go and let him in.
She did so, and the frog hopped into the room, and then straight on from the bottom of the room to the top till he came up close to the table where the princess sat. Pray lift me upon the chair, said he to the princess, and let me sit next to you. As soon as she had done this, the the frog said, put your plate nearer to me, that I may eat out of it. This she did. And when he had eaten as much as he could, he said, now I am tired. Carry me upstairs and put me into your bed. And the princess, though very unwilling, took him up in her hand and put him upon the pillow of her own bed, where he slept all night long. As soon as it was light, he jumped up, hopped downstairs and went out of the house.
Now then, thought the princess, at last he is gone, and I shall be troubled with him no more. But she was mistaken, for when night came again she heard the same tapping at the door. And the frog came once more and said, open the door, my princess dear. Open the door to thy true love here, and mind the words that thou and I said by the phantom cool in the greenwood shade. And when the princess opened the door, the frog came in and slept upon her pillow as before till the morning broke. And the third night he did the same. But when the princess awoke on the following morning, she was astonished to see, instead of the frog, a handsome prince, gazing on her with the most beautiful eye she had ever seen and standing at the head of her bed.
He told her that he had been enchanted by a spiteful fairy who had changed him into a frog, and that he had been fated so to abide till some princess should take him out of the spring and let him eat from her plate and sleep upon her bed for three nights. You, said the prince, have broken this cruel charm, and now I have nothing to wish for but that you should go with me into my father’s kingdom, where I will marry you and love you as long as you live. The young princess, you may be sure, was not long in saying yes to all this. And as they spoke, the coach drove up with eight beautiful horses, decked with plumes of feathers and a golden harness.
And behind the coach rode the prince’s servant, faithful Einrich, who had bewailed the misfortunes of his dear master during his enchantment so long and so bitterly that his heart had well nigh burst. Then they took leave of the king and got into the coach with eight horses and all set out, full of joy and merriment for the prince’s kingdom, which they reached safely, and there they lived happily a great many years.
This Grimm’s Brothers tale is a classic fairy tale that’s woven into the fabric of countless movies and stories. We’re usually drawn to its quintessential happy ever after ending. It depicts a pattern where men, sometimes portrayed as less than ideal partners, are transformed and saved by women, leading to an inevitable marriage as the most desirable reward. And yes, we find that life doesn’t quite mirror these fairy tale resolutions. Some would even say that it sets us women up for failure, but more about that later. There are some very important themes that emerge from this classic story.
The central theme is transformation, both physical and emotional. The princess, who starts out self interested and spoiled, though under some duress, becomes more tolerant and patient. The frog transforms back into a prince, perhaps suggesting the redemptive power of friendship and love. Though I would argue that the princess doesn’t really transform, as she only stands by her promise because her father, the king, insists that she does. She’s portrayed as childlike and obedient, pretty much like so many stories betray women, and not just those that were written in another century.
The story also speaks to the theme of promises and integrity. The princess learns the importance of standing by her word and keeping her promises. I wonder, does her integrity actually grow throughout the story? Or is she just being the kind of good girl that is expected of her. And then there’s the theme of appearances and reality. The story reminds us not to judge others based on their outward appearance. The frog, though unattractive and slimy, is so much more than that. It’s often thought that the prince is noble for withstanding the curse put upon him, though what choice does he have? But it does speak to the idea that outer appearances are deceptive and the true nature and beauty of a person lies within. It does help when he transforms, that he’s handsome and has beautiful eyes.
When we think of business, this idea that appearances can be trusted should be tested. Whether you’re hiring someone or looking to create a partnership, we need to get a sense of the inner appearance rather than just simply trusting how it all looks. I remember going through a hiring process where we hid the details of the individual name, age, gender, appearance when we reviewed the applications. In fact, it was several stages along the hiring process before we got to meet the person. By that time, we knew all about their experience. They’d done some testing and assignments to measure their suitability for the role, and only then did we meet them in person.
At that stage, I think we would have been less swayed by outer appearances and more able to assess the individual’s suitability for the role without being impacted by our own bias. In other situations, we’re often persuaded by amazing marketing tactics, which is the epitome of outer appearances when it comes to business decisions, it’s important to take the time and make the effort to go deeper before we make these decisions.
So I said I’d come back to the impact of these stories on women. My argument with these stories that I love so much. Maybe I can articulate them through these questions. Why is the princess always childlike and weak? Couldn’t she have retrieved the golden ball alone? Why are women always helpless in these stories? Why should she have to negotiate in order to be helped? Can’t we just help each other without having to sell our soul? Or at least without having to pay? By having a man enter our life so thoroughly through our home, our food, and even our bed. When the prince wakes up, why does she immediately fall for his good looks? Where’s her integrity? He’s just tricked her. Why is marriage and the promise of a happy ever after ending the only option for a young girl? Why should she have to go from her father’s ownership to that of her husband?
Yes, I know my feminism gets in the way of just enjoying the lovely story, but these are the messages that young girls would hear. It’s what I heard as a child, and it may have been part of the reason that it took me so long to really step into the independence and empowerment of being successful, despite what any man might think or say. But here’s the thing. Above all, the story speaks to the potential of transformation. As the frog and arguably the princess transform through the story, the so can we as business owners and as people, we always have the chance to connect with our values and to change.
We can be little girls who enjoy the story of a handsome prince and still turn out strong and successful. We can also change the stories we tell our children and above all, the stories we tell ourselves. With transformation in mind, I’m reminded that personal development has been a big part of my life for decades. I’m always looking to learn and grow, and it’s nice to think that I too can transform from a frog into a prince.
I’m Lisa Bloom, and you’ve been listening to Once Upon a Business. You can find out more about me at story-coach.com. That’s story-coach.com. Once Upon a Business is part of the Mirasee FM Podcast Network, which also includes such shows as Course Lab and Just Between Coaches. To catch the great episodes that are coming up on Once Upon a Business, please like and follow us on Mirasee FM’s YouTube channel or your favorite podcast player. And if you enjoyed the show, please leave us a comment or a starred review. It’s the best way to help us get these ideas to more people. Thank you. We’ll see you next time.