• The poem was about a woman who went out on a walk, and during that walk she came upon two paths. One path was dark, frightful, and filled with hardships, and sitting on a stump at the mouth of that path was a small frog. The other path was different; it was lively, bright, and sitting on a throne at the mouth of the path was a prince, bejeweled with rubies and other precious stones. The woman, being a simple girl, of course decided that before she took any path, it would be best to speak to the representatives of either path.
    When she reached the frog, it looked at her, opened its big mouth and spoke,
    Beware the prince; he’s built of lies,
    And though, this path, your eyes despise,
    With closer looks, you shall find
    His path, a swamp, of dirt and slime
    And the man you found so droll,
    Was nothing better than a troll
    An incarnation of wanton lust
    Who’ll grind your bones into dust
    And once you’re gone, there’ll be no more
    Just your footprints on the floor.
    And though, this path, your eyes despise
    With its rot and with its flies,
    With its slime, and with its bark
    Though it be cold and fairly dark
    It opens up into a garden
    With no troll as its warden
    No pain, no suffering, and no burden
    Come down the path, come with me
    Come down the path, and be set free.
    And with those words, the frog up and leapt into the woods and she was left to ponder the frog’s advice. But, again, being a simple girl she thought it best to also speak to the prince as well. The bejeweled man saw her, stood up, and with a bow he began to speak,
    Beware the frog, my dear sweet child
    His path is cold and quite wild
    Instead take this path of mine
    Without the dirt, without the slime
    Without the rot and filth and flies
    That you certainly despise
    He speaks of trolls and wanton lust
    Of grinding bones into dust
    But wrong, he is, for he’s a frog
    Sits all day long, upon that log
    And I, my dear, upon this throne
    Will gladly make you feel at home
    Ignore the frog, and come with me
    Come down the path, and be set free.

    It was no surprise which path she took. But sadly for this weary girl, the path that the frog described had turned into reality. As she walked down the prince’s path, the flowers wilted, melted, the ground turned into mud and slime, and finally, the trees died. And when she turned, the man, the handsome prince whom she had fallen for, had transformed into a hideous ogre.