Once upon a time, a young princess had a favorite toy — a golden ball. She loved to toss it up and catch it, up and catch it, while she sat by the well in the palace garden.

One day, she threw it too high. The ball slipped through her fingers, bounced on the stone edge of the well, and — plop — fell into the dark water below.

The princess peered into the well, but the water was deep and black. Her golden ball was gone. She began to cry.

"Why are you crying, princess?" said a voice.

She looked down and saw a fat green frog sitting on a lily pad.

"My golden ball has fallen into the well," she said, "and I can't get it back."

"I can get it for you," said the frog. "But what will you give me in return?"

"Anything!" said the princess. "My jewels, my crown, anything!"

"I don't want jewels," said the frog. "I want to be your friend. I want to sit beside you at dinner, eat from your plate, and sleep on a soft pillow in your room."

The princess thought, "This silly frog can never follow me to the palace." So she said, "Yes, yes, I promise."

The frog dove down into the well and came back up with the golden ball in his mouth. The princess grabbed it with delight and ran off toward the palace without a backward glance.

"Wait!" called the frog. "You promised!" But the princess was already gone.

The next evening, while the princess sat at dinner with the king, there came a wet, slapping sound at the door. SPLAT. SPLAT. SPLAT. And a small voice called, "Princess! Open the door! You made a promise by the well!"

The king asked what was going on, and the princess, very embarrassed, told him the whole story.

The king looked at his daughter seriously. "If you made a promise, you must keep it. That is what honorable people do."

So the princess opened the door, and the frog hopped in. He sat beside her at the table. He ate from her plate. And that night, she set a soft pillow beside her bed for him to sleep on.

She wasn't happy about it. But she had promised.

In the morning, the princess woke to find that the frog was gone. Standing in his place was a young prince with kind eyes.

"A witch turned me into a frog," he explained. "Only someone who would keep a promise to me — even when they didn't want to — could break the spell."

The princess felt her face grow warm. She had almost broken that promise. But she hadn't. And that had made all the difference.

The prince and the princess became good friends. And the princess never broke a promise again.