Once upon a time, in far-off Maldonia…

"But I do not want to go to bed!" the young boy wailed. The maidservant huffed angrily.

"Your Highness, you've already been allowed an extra hour to stay awake. Surely you're tired now?" she said, trying to stay pleasant.

"No!" the prince cried.

"Your Highness!" the maidservant said, no longer hiding her frustration.

"Tabitha? What is going on?"

Tabitha, the maidservant, let out a choked sound as she turned around. The queen was standing in the doorway, her head cocked. Tabitha quickly dropped a curtsey.

"Y-your Majesty. I'm afraid His Highness refuses to go to bed."

"It is too early!" the little prince protested. The queen laughed and walked over to him, then crouched to meet him eye-to-eye.

"Naveen, how have I told you to behave with Miss Tabitha?" she asked seriously. Naveen huffed.

"You said I am to treat her as I would treat you," he said flatly.

"Exactly. Now do as she says."

"But I am not tired!" he whined. The queen smiled as she stood up.

"Well, how about a story?" she asked, looking in the bookshelf. Her eyebrows rose. "Ah, De Fraggi Pruto. That was my favorite as a child. Tabitha?"

"Yes, Majesty?" Tabitha asked timidly.

"Read this to him. And Naveen?"

"Yes, Mother?"

"Behave." She lightly kissed his forehead. "Good night, darling."

"Good night, Mother," he said, then crawled into bed and crossed his arms in annoyance. As the queen walked out, Tabitha sat down in a chair beside his bed and opened the book.

" 'Once upon a time, in a faraway kingdom, there lived a princess who…'" she started, but Naveen soon stopped listening. He huffed again, and discovered the gap from his missing front tooth made a sort of whistling noise. He blew through it again, then grinned and started forming a little tune.

"Your Highness!" Tabitha snapped, interrupting him. "Either you listen to the story, or I shall walk out and lock you in here until noon tomorrow and give a swat on the backside!"

He sullenly stopped his whistling. Though he knew the threat was empty, it still wasn't worth getting yelled at by his father. He slumped against the pillows and listened as Tabitha started again.

" 'Once upon a time, in a far-off kingdom, there was a princess who loved to play with a golden ball. One day, while she was playing near a pond, her ball bounced down into it. She began to cry, for she could not swim. Then she looked over and saw a little frog sitting next to her.

" ' "Oh, please, Master Frog, please go down and get my ball," she begged the frog. "I'll do anything you want."'

"The frog stared at her for a moment, then nodded and dove into the water to get the ball."

Naveen looked up, interested. "You mean, the frog understood her?" he asked. Tabitha nodded. Naveen's eyes widened. "Keep reading!" he said excitedly.

Tabitha smiled, then continued. " 'After a few moments, the frog came back up, carrying the ball. The princess was very happy, but she immediately forgot her promise to the frog. She started back to the castle, but was stopped when someone said, "Are you forgetting your promise?"'

"The princess turned around, but only the frog was there. She looked down at him. "Were you the one who spoke, Master Frog?" she asked.'

" 'The frog nodded and said, "Yes, it was I who spoke."'"

Naveen gasped. "Achedanza…" he murmured. Tabitha smiled, then started to close the book.

"Well, that's all we'll get to tonight…"

"No! Keep reading!" Naveen pleaded. "What does he want the princess to do?"

"Oh, no, Your Highness, it's far too late…"

"Please?" He opened his eyes wider, begging for her to keep going. Tabitha let out an exaggerated sigh, then opened the book again. Naveen crawled closer to her.

"Now…where was I?" Tabitha wondered.

"You were at the part where the frog said that he was the one who spoke," he said.

Tabitha nodded. "Ah, that's right. ' "All right, Master Frog, what is it you want?" the princess asked. The frog sighed sadly.

" ' "You see, I am not really a frog, but a prince who was turned into a frog by a wicked witch…"'"

"Why was he turned into a frog?" Naveen whispered.

"Probably because he was naughty and didn't go to bed when he was told," Tabitha said, eyeing him. Naveen's eyes widened, and he crawled under the covers. Tabitha cleared her throat and continued.

" ' "The only way this curse can be broken is if I am kissed by a princess."'

"Blech!!" Naveen cried, sticking out his tongue. "Kissing!"

Tabitha smiled, then continued. " 'So the princess leaned down and kissed the frog. He turned back into a prince, and they lived happily ever after. The end.' All right, Highness, it's time for you to go to sleep."

As she tucked him in, Naveen said, "Why is there always kissing? It's so disgusting!"

Tabitha smiled. "Now, now, Highness, one of these days you're going to be a young man, and you'll be getting married."

"Ech, no! I'm not getting married! And I'm never, ever, ever kissing a girl!"

Tabitha chuckled as she slipped the book back into the bookcase. "Whatever you say, Highness. Shall I leave a lamp burning?"

Naveen shook his head. "I'm almost seven, Miss Tabitha! I can sleep in the dark."

Tabitha nodded and curtseyed, then snuffed out the lamp. "Good night, Highness."

He yawned. "Good night, Miss Tabitha." He nestled his head into the pillow and closed his eyes. But, as soon as the door closed, he sat up in bed. Carefully, he got out of bed, then pulled the chair over to the bookcase so he could pull down the book. Tucking it under his arm, he walked over to the curtains and pulled them open to let in the moonlight. He then crawled back into bed, opening the book and laying it on his small lap.

Brow furrowed in concentration, he flipped back and forth between the pictures of the prince before and after the kiss. He wrinkled his nose, then closed the book and set it on the bedside table.

"If I ever get turned into a frog," he said as he settled back under the covers, "I'm going to make sure I get turned back without kissing anyone."

A/N--Just a cute scene of Naveen I thought of. And, is it me, or does it just not seem right having him use contractions?