Slowly, I am staging my upcoming Princess Frogs displays for Halloween. After quickly staging all the display elements – the four Princess Frogs, handpainted signs, lily ponds, and foliage—together in a temporary location, I am relocating them to their permanent location on West 69th Street.
I was overjoyed when a young girl passing by screamed, “Princess Frogs!” when she spotted my display. Her mother told me that her daughter loves to dress up as a princess. My target audience gets me!! My display will be on one of New York City’s iconic Halloween Streets, where over 2,000 children trick-or-treat annually.
Everything, except the wigs and crowns, is made from recycled materials – water bottles, pizza boxes, FedEx boxes, paper towels, toilet paper rolls, New York Times newspapers, bubble wrap, coffee cans, lids, and packing foam.
Croak-A- Hontas
Once upon a time, in a far-off tranquil stream
Lives a princess frog named Croak-A- Hontas, with high self-esteem
She is green and slimy but oh so regal,
And her croak is sweet and pure, like a golden eagle.
Her father is the king of all the reptiles
that live near the stream for miles and miles
And Croak-A- Hontas is friends with one and all
if there is a fight, she is quick to break up the brawl
But one day, an evil stork comes to the pond,
And snatches her up, leaving her father beyond.
Croak-A- Hontas is scared, but she doesn’t give up,
She knows she can escape without a hiccup.
So she kicks, and she wriggles and finally breaks free,
And lands with a splash in a nearby tree.
There, she meets a nervous snake
with a rattle on his tail, he likes to shake
She comforts him as best she can
and promises to take him back to her land
Together, they begin to trek across the valley
making new friends and often stopping to dillydally
Croak-A- Hontas is fascinated by all that she sees
Her mind fills with a boundless curiosity
For every rock and tree and creature
has a life, has a spirit, has a name that can teach her
My Princess Frogs display is a twist on the perennial tale Frog Prince. Instead of a woman kissing a frog to break the spell and turn it back into a prince, I wondered if a man would be willing to kiss a frog and turn it back into a princess.
If a man was willing to kiss a frog, would the frog want to be turned back into a Princess? Sarah Ferguson, Diana Spencer, and Meghan Markle‘s comments about a princess’s real life make it clear it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. Life as a frog might be much easier than life as a princess.
