frogs frogs frogs

collecting his due

i don't know what it is about frogs that has enchanted me of late. it must have begun when i reread the fairy tale "the frog king" (der froschkönig) as an adult and was amazed how cruel the princess was. i was positively impressed by her candour and violent tendencies. she was driven by her intuition to throw the beast from her, not listening to her father who had forced him on her because of the promise she had made him after saving her ball from the well. it is a struggle we all undergo i guess, going against our father's wishes, just from our gut feeling. and when the princess follows her instinct and smashes the frog up against the wall, voila, there's her prince. she did it her way (oh, yes that song... i love it when elvis croons it) and her own truth is revealed.

princess bathroom

but frogs also represent that inevitable change we must undergo. from tadpole to croaker beneath the midsummer night moon. birth and rebirth. this is a painful process and most often feels like being smashed up against the wall, torn to bits, landing in a hovel, only to stand back up again a shiny new being. i have not yet found out why this is so, but the why's rarely get answered, do they.

frog poppy

but what has always enchanted me most about frogs is their song. they used to lull me gently to sleep when we were on holiday in the bavarian countryside. it had been hot and we went swimming all the days. and at night these more able swimmers sat on their lilly pads, croaking away. it was always a perfect finish to an adventurous day, full of green grass, cool water and warm air softness. they didn't need to change for me, instead they enchanted me and made a princess out of me...

now off to face the day.

ribbit.

xoxo