Shall I go to the king instead of you , and tell him of your sufferings , and that he has the most charming baby in the world for his daughter ? The way is long , and I travel slowly ; but , sooner or later , I shall be sure to arrive . Only , are you not afraid to be left without my protection ? Ponder the matter carefully ; it is for you to decide . ' ` Oh , it needs no pondering , ' cried the queen joyfully , holding up her clasped hands , and making Muffette do likewise , in token of gratitude . But in order that he may know that you have come from me I will send him a letter . ' And pricking her arm , she wrote a few words with her blood on the corner of her handkerchief . Then tearing it off , she gave it to the frog , and they bade each other farewell . It took the frog a year and four days to mount the ten thousand steps that led to the upper world , but that was because she was still under the spell of a wicked fairy . By the time she reached the top , she was so tired that she had to remain for another year on the banks of a stream to rest , and also to arrange the procession with which she was to present herself before the king . For she knew far too well what was due to herself and her relations , to appear at Court as if she was a mere nobody . At length , after many consultations with her cap , the affair was settled , and at the end of the second year after her parting with the queen they all set out . First walked her bodyguard of grasshoppers , followed by her maids of honour , who were those tiny green frogs you see in the fields , each one mounted on a snail , and seated on a velvet saddle . Next came the water-rats , dressed as pages , and lastly the frog herself , in a litter borne by eight toads , and made of tortoiseshell . Here she could lie at her ease , with her cap on her head , for it was quite large and roomy , and could easily have held two eggs when the frog was not in it . The journey lasted seven years , and all this time the queen suffered tortures of hope , though Muffette did her best to comfort her . Indeed , she would most likely have died had not the Lion Fairy taken a fancy that the child and her mother should go hunting with her in the upper world , and , in spite of her sorrows , it was always a joy to the queen to see the sun again . As for little Muffette , by the time she was seven her arrows seldom missed their mark . So , after all , the years of waiting passed more quickly than the queen had dared to hope . The frog was always careful to maintain her dignity , and nothing would have persuaded her to show her face in public places , or even along the high road , where there was a chance of meeting anyone .
But sometimes , when the procession had to cross a little stream , or go over a piece XXXXX marshy ground , orders would be given for a halt ; fine clothes were thrown off , bridles were flung aside , and grasshoppers , water-rats , even the frog herself , spent a delightful hour or two playing in the mud .
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