The brothers went out to work, the wives prepared the dinner, and attended to all their household duties; the frog sat by the fire croaking, and its eyes glittered. Thus they lived together a long time in love and harmony.
At last the sisters-in-law wearied of the sight of the frog; when they swept the house, they threw out the frog with the dust. If the youngest brother found it, he took it up in his hand; if not, the frog would leap back to its place by the fire and begin to croak. The noble sisters did not like this, and said to their husbands: ‘Drive this frog out, and get a real wife for your brother.’ Every day the brothers bothered the youngest. He replied, saying: ‘This frog is certainly my fate, I am worthy of no better, I must be faithful to it.’ His sisters-in-law persisted in telling their husbands that the brother and his frog must be sent away, and at last they agreed.
The young brother was now left quite desolate: there was no one to make his food, no one to stand watching at the door. For a short time a neighbouring woman came to wait upon him, but she had no time, so he was left alone. The man became very melancholy.
Once when he was thinking sadly of his loneliness, he went to work. When he had finished his day’s labour, he went home. He looked into his house and was struck with amazement. The sideboard was well replenished; in one place was spread a cloth, and on the cloth were many different kinds of tempting viands. He looked and saw the frog in its place croaking. He said to himself that his sisters-in-law must have done this for him, and went to his work again. He was out all day working, and when he came home he always found everything prepared for him.
Once he said to himself: ‘I will see for once who is this unseen benefactor, who comes to do good to me and look after me.’ That day he stayed at home; he seated himself on the roof of the house and watched. In a short time the frog leaped out of the fireplace, jumped over to the doors, and all round the room; seeing no one there, it went back and took off the frog’s skin, put it near the fire, and came forth a beautiful maiden, fair as the sun; so lovely was she that man could not imagine anything prettier. In the twinkling of an eye she had tidied everything, prepared the food and cooked it. When everything was ready, she went to the fire, put on the skin again, and began to croak. When the man saw this he was very much astonished; he rejoiced exceedingly that God had granted him such happiness. He descended from the roof, went in, caressed his frog tenderly, and then sat down to his tasty supper.
The next day the man hid himself in the place where he had been the day before. The frog, having satisfied itself that nobody was there, stripped off its skin and began its good work. This time the man stole silently into the house, seized the frog’s skin in his hand and threw it into the fire. When the maiden saw this she entreated him, she wept—she said: ‘Do not burn it, or thou shalt surely be destroyed’—but the man had burnt it in a moment. ‘Now, if thy happiness be turned to misery, it is not my fault,’ said the sorrow-stricken woman.
In a very short time the whole country-side knew that the man who had a frog now possessed in its place a lovely woman, who had come to him from heaven.
The lord of the country heard of this, and wished to take her from him. He called the beautiful woman’s husband to him and said: ‘Sow a barnful of wheat in a day, or give me thy wife.’ When he had spoken thus, the man was obliged to consent, and he went home melancholy.
When he went in he told his wife what had taken place. She reproached him, saying: ‘I told thee what would happen if thou didst burn the skin, and thou didst not heed me; but I will not blame thee. Be not sad; go in the morning to the edge of the lake from which I came, and call out: “Mother and Father! I pray you, lend me your swift bullocks”—lead them away with thee, and the bullocks will in one day plough the fields and sow the grain.’ The husband did this.
He went to the edge of the lake and called out: ‘Mother and Father! I entreat you, lend me your swift bullocks to-day.’ There came forth from the lake such a team of oxen as was never seen on sea or land.