TheBanyanTree: The Toad and the Princess

[Theta Brentnall]

That sounds like one smart princess.

Theta

On 11/1/2014 11:37 AM, Monique Colver wrote:
> When she was little she had been a toad, squat and with bulbous eyes, and
> even though she was in a family of toads, she was the ugliest of them.
>
> Not that toads are ugly, as toads, but they're not known for their stunning
> good looks.
>
> She wished to be a princess, pretty and sleek, but knew wishing wouldn't
> make it so. She didn't know what would, but she hated being a toad. The
> other kids laughed at her, for even though some of them were also toads
> they didn't seem to care, they carried their toadness around like a bright
> shiny shield, and so she wished she could be like that. It wasn't as good
> as being a princess, but if she could just be a toad who didn't care about
> being a toad, it would be an improvement.
>
> But she did care. She tried not to, because it seemed that if she cared
> less she could be happy being a toad.
>
> That didn't work either. She still saw a toad when she looked in the
> mirror, and she still cared.
>
> She wished to be a princess because she thought that would make the pain go
> away, not knowing that being a princess carries its own burden. It's not
> easy being a princess either.
>
> And one day she met a princess, a beautiful non-toad, and she said, "I wish
> were a princess too."
>
> The princess had been having a particularly bad day that day, what with all
> the demands expected of her just for being a princess, and she said, "Why
> would you want that? You can do anything you want, and I can't."
>
> The toad said, "Would you like to be a toad then?"
>
> "Well, no," the princess replied, I wouldn't like that very much at all I
> think."
>
> The toad considered this carefully, and thought that at least the princess
> was honest.
>
> "But I don't want to be a toad, I'm tired of people looking at me like they
> do, and I'm tired of not being smart, or witty, or funny."
>
> The princess regarded the toad with a bit of skepticism and a lot of
> frustration. "But you're not a toad. You're just you."
>
> "I'm not a toad? Everyone said I was a toad."
>
> "Pshaw," the princess said, "Do you always believe everything everyone
> says?"
>
> "Well, no," the toad responded, wondering where this was going.
>
> "Because if you do, then I say you're not a toad, so it must be true, and
> if you don't, then what anyone else says doesn't matter unless you believe
> it yourself."
>
> The toad thought about this. "I shall have to think about this some more,"
> the toad said, for she was not quick to make up her mind about anything.
>
> "You do that," the princess said, "and while you're thinking about it,
> let's go get a pedicure."
>