Princess Lily and the Promise Frog

Princess Lily lived in a bright, happy castle with friendly dragons that zoomed around the towers and talking animals that shared funny stories. She was always kind and brave, helping anyone who needed a paw or a wing. Her favourite thing was to play by the sparkling pond in the royal garden, a place where lily pads floated like green stepping stones.

One sunny afternoon, Lily was playing her favourite game: bouncing her shiny, golden ball off the castle wall. *Boing! Boing!* it went, higher and higher, until—oh no!—it flew too far and splashed right into the deepest part of the pond. Lily sighed. "My beautiful ball!" she whispered sadly.

Just then, a little green frog with big, shiny eyes popped his head out of the water. "Hello, Princess!" he croaked. "I can fetch your ball, but only if you make me a promise. You must let me be your friend, eat from your plate, and sleep on your softest pillow tonight!" Lily, missing her ball terribly, quickly agreed. "A promise is a promise," she thought, surprised but eager.

The frog, with a mighty splash, dived down and brought up Lily's sparkling golden ball! "Thank you, little frog!" Lily cheered, grabbing her ball. She waved goodbye and skipped back to the castle, thinking the frog would stay by the pond. But as she sat down for dinner, *hop, hop, hop!* the little frog was there! "A promise is a promise!" he croaked loudly.

Lily blinked. The frog hopped onto the edge of her plate, looking at her yummy royal stew! "Oh, um, hello there!" she said, trying to gently nudge him away. Sparkle the dragon giggled, and Hoot the owl watched with wide eyes. Lily felt a tiny bit frustrated. This was a very, very surprising frog!

Later, when it was time for bed, the frog hopped all the way to Lily's room. "A promise is a promise!" he croaked again, looking at her big, soft, royal pillow. Lily remembered her kind heart and her brave promise. "Even though it's a bit strange," she thought, "I must keep my word." With a big sigh, but a gentle hand, she carefully picked up the little green frog.

Lily placed him softly on her pillow. *POOF!* A cloud of sparkly, golden dust filled the room! When it cleared, there was no frog! Instead, a handsome young prince stood smiling. "Thank you, kind Princess Lily," he said. "You kept your promise, and you saw past my green skin. You broke the witch's spell!"

Princess Lily was so happy! She had helped someone truly special by being kind and keeping her word. The prince stayed in the castle, and they became the best of friends, always sharing stories and laughing together.

And everyone in the castle, even the zoomy dragons and the wise talking animals, learned a wonderful lesson: a promise is a promise, and a kind heart always finds the true magic, even in the most surprising places.