AMA 1,000 Words — College: ‘Frog King,’ Brandon Lisenby, 1st place

The fall season has always been easy on the people of the kingdom of Carn. Temperatures were cool, crops were plentiful, and there was also some festival for entertainment. It was an especially good time for the king of this fair land, who was always happy to see his people at ease. He always made sure to drop by and visit with the citizens, without whom his kingdom would be nothing. It was because of their constant labor and kind hearts that made his kingdom as mighty as it was.

The king himself was as magnificent and powerful as his kingdom was. Young and strong, he was willing to help those around him, and was generous with his vast riches. The king was constantly in the company of his loyal servant, and would never go anyplace without him. But he was foolhardy, and never refused a bet or contest. This flaw would eventually lead to the fall of himself and his kingdom.

If there is one week that the citizens of Carn know of, it is the week of the harvest festival. The crops are harvested, everything is salted, pickled, or jarred, and the weather is not quite cold enough for fires. Before the cold winter work started, the king deemed that a celebration is in order, as a reward for his citizens’ hard work. All of the excess food from the harvest is prepared, the traders and performers come to town, the citizens break out their instruments, and the revelry begins.

The king would never be caught dead out of the celebration that he had prepared for his loyal citizens. He was right in the middle of the fray, talking and frolicking just as everyone else, with his ever-present servant in tow. It was there that he was approached by a strange old woman who he had never met before. “Step forward and be known, madam, for you are amongst friends in this kingdom. What have you come for, other than fine wine and finer people” so said the king.

“I thank you, for I have travelled a long way, from a land where winter is everlasting and no plant dares to pierce the ground. I come to you with a challenge, the reward for which is immortality for you and your kingdom. All you have to do is take this stone and fling it over the walls of your kingdom while standing in the town square,” was the response that he received.

“This woman is more than she seems, my lord. You shouldn’t bet the stability of your entire kingdom for one silly bet,” cried his servant, but his warnings fell on deaf ears.

The king, never one to refuse a challenge of any caliber, took up the stone, and with a mighty heave, flung it as far as the strength in his body was allowed. Though the throw was truly gargantuan, the stone came to rest just inside of the battlements of his kingdom.

“One more chance! One more and I will provide you with a year’s worth of journeyman’s pay and rations. One more chance to gift my kingdom with the power to live through the ages,” cried the king, for he cared very much for his people. The woman at first refused, as that was not part of the challenge, and would not be a fair contest. The king would not be refused for this challenge, though, and though his faithful servant gave many more objections, offered the woman more and more wages and food for just one more chance at the strange bid. After emptying a vast majority of the town treasury and giving all of the preserved food for the winter, the woman finally gave in, and allowed the king to take up the stone again. The king put all of his body and spirit into his second and last throw, and lo, the stone sailed far beyond the walls of his kingdom. Respecting her promise, the old woman gave the king a potion, saying, “Drink, and your kingdom will be made immortal.” So, as the king drank a long draught, the walls and houses of his kingdom began to fade to green.

As the king finished with his concoction, he realized that he was much smaller, and he was alone in a dense forest. His body was tiny, covered in green skin, with two forked fingers on each hand, each fork bearing a suction pad for gripping. He had become a frog, and his kingdom a forest. The only remnant left of his former life and kingdom left was his banquet table, at which the old woman sat. He hopped upon the table, questioning the reason for this strange metamorphosis. The woman, bearing her winnings, explained that the she had tricked the king into surrendering his riches, and she had not lied about his reward. His kingdom will live forever, for nature is everlasting. She also revealed that she had banished all of the kingdom’s citizens from the forest, as they were not fit to live in a kingdom of flora. With the king, though, she made an exception, for what is the point of a kingdom without a king to rule it. He was doomed to ponder and grieve over his exiled subjects, especially his loyal servant, who had warned him of his fate from the beginning of this strange bet, for eternity. Thus, the king of the kingdom of Carn became the Frog King of the forest kingdom.