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the Frog Prince

8/24/2020

10 Comments

 
One of my old cloth dolls moving on to a new home is the Princess and the Frog, made some time around 1990. But before she goes, I wanted to take some nice photos, since I don't really have any to remember her by. So I thought I'd shoot a small part of the story....

One fine day, the Princess was out in her garden....
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..when she accidentally dropped her golden ball into the fountain....
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She didn't want to get her hands (or sleeves) wet.  
​"Oh dear, now what do I do?"
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Then she heard a little voice...
"​What's the matter?  Can I be of help?"
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"I dropped my ball in the fountain, and can't really reach in and take it out."
"Well, I can get it out for you, but I want something in exchange."
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"Like what?"
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The frog was really an enchanted Prince, and he was hoping this Princess would finally be able to break the spell, and return him to his human form....
"I want you to take me into the castle with you, to eat at the table with you, and sleep in the same room as you, and to live in the castle with you forever..."
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Well, the Princess wasn't really listening. She just wanted her ball back, so she agreed.
​ So the frog dived into the fountain...
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...and a few moments later, came up with her golden ball...
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'Here you go, Princess..."
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"Now pick me up, and take me into the palace with you..."
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But she had no intention of keeping her promise...
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...and ran back to the castle with her ball, leaving the frog to find his own way.  

When the frog arrived, the guards called the King, who asked his daughter if she had really promised to take the frog home with her. When she said that she did, her father insisted that she had to keep her promise, and she was reluctantly forced to let the frog sit with her at dinner....
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The frog disgusted her, and she just kept thinking of some way to get out of her side of the bargain.
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As the rest of the story goes, the Princess reluctantly followed through on her promises - mostly because the King insisted that she had to. After all a promise is a promise.  

​With time she grew to actually like him, and they became good friends. Then one day she gave him a kiss, and the spell was broken, and he returned to his normal human self, and the two of them lived happily ever after.  Or so the story goes.  But we'll just have to imagine the ending, since I didn't shoot that part, because there was only so much I could do with these two characters.
10 Comments
marianne
8/24/2020 09:42:38 am

nice. Makes me think of all the great things we could have done with the White Cat. We'd finally have an interior

Reply
Martha
8/24/2020 09:46:02 am

Thanks. Those old dolls and cats photograph so beautifully. That's why I want to do a sequel, as soon as I get my act together.

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Lorraine
8/24/2020 11:06:05 am

Such a lovely doll, with a dress to die for. I can't imagine how you can part with her so easily. The frog is charming, too. I can only hope you'll be inspired to make a similar costume for one of your BJDs. Maybe with a matching frog.

Reply
Martha
8/24/2020 12:12:51 pm

Yes, I noticed that her dress was quite detailed with a lot of beading. I've always loved fancy costumes and beading, ever since I was a kid.

It isn't easy to part with my dolls, and I've been stressing over it for years, but I really needed the space. So I'm passing them down to family. But first I'm taking lots of photos so I still have something to remember them by.

Reply
Dorothy
8/24/2020 01:31:33 pm

What a beautiful princess. I love her face.

I am glad that the wise king made her keep her promise otherwise the poor frog prince would still be looking for someone to kiss him.

Reply
Martha
8/24/2020 02:00:47 pm

Thanks. Her face was made by gluing tricot over a plastic face form. I had to use a special glue that would not seep through the fabric.

I made hundreds of those cloths dolls back in the early nineties, and this one, was one of the very last that I made extra detailed for myself.

Reply
Carol
8/24/2020 01:46:48 pm

Such a beautiful doll & frog! Did you make them or buy them? I love them both. Their costumes are amazing with so much detail that I think that you must have made them. The frog’s crown really made me smile.

Reply
Martha
8/24/2020 02:03:14 pm

I made the doll, but bought the frog. He was just a basic frog from the Steiff company, , and I painted markings on him, made him a crown, and attached the gold ball.

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Donna
8/25/2020 09:10:17 am

It's easy to see why you've had a hard time deciding to part with them. The princess and her costume are beautiful. Her gown is a preview of what was to come later with your BJDs.

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Martha
8/25/2020 10:31:00 am

I was really getting stressed about lack of space to display my BJDs, and something had to go. It was between my old cloth dolls, and the Kaye Wiggs MSD dolls, which don't get any camera time.

Of all the cloth dolls, there's just one I'm going to miss, but she has to stay with the set.

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    Author

    Martha Boers is an award-winning Canadian doll maker and costumer specializing in fantasy and historical-style costumes.
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