` Oh , no , there are n't any , ' replied her tormentor ; ` but you will have to find them all the same . ' And , so saying , she went away . ` After all , what does it matter ? ' thought the queen to herself , ' I have only one life , and I can but lose it . ' And not caring what she did , she left the palace and seating herself under a yew tree , poured out all her grief . ` Oh , my dear husband , ' wept she , ` what will you think when you come to the castle to fetch me and find me gone ? Rather a thousand times that you should fancy me dead than imagine that I had forgotten you ! Ah , how fortunate that the broken chariot should be lying in the wood , for then you may grieve for me as one devoured by wild beasts . And if another should take my place in your heart -- Well , at least I shall never know it . ' She might have continued for long in this fashion had not the voice of a crow directly overhead attracted her attention . Looking up to see what was the matter she beheld , in the dim light , a crow holding a fat frog in his claws , which he evidently intended for his supper . The queen rose hastily from the seat , and striking the bird sharply on the claws with the fan which hung from her side , she forced him to drop the frog , which fell to the round more dead than alive . The crow , furious at his disappointment , flew angrily away . As soon as the frog had recovered her senses she hopped up to the queen , who was still sitting under the yew . Standing on her hind legs , and bowing low before her , she said gently : ` Beautiful lady , by what mischance do you come here ? You are the only creature that I have seen do a kind deed since a fatal curiosity lured me to this place . ' ` What sort of a frog can you be that knows the language of mortals ? ' asked the queen in her turn . ` But if you do , tell me , I pray , if I alone am a captive , for hitherto I have beheld no one but the monsters of the lake . ' ` Once upon a time they were men and women like yourself , ' answered the frog , ` but having power in their hands , they used it for their own pleasure .
Therefore fate has sent them here XXXXX a while to bear the punishment of their misdoings . '
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