The Frog Princess
In short: A frogskin hides the daughter of the Queen of Light from her enemies. When the prince burns it, she takes the form of a duck and flies away.
¹ Based on the number of Atlas countries, capped at 10. ² Editorial suggestion for reading this page. Discover Black Horse’s question
Origin and tradition
Poland
In Biggs’s 1920 translation the princess tells her husband why she wears the disguise. After seeing her in human form at the banquet, the king tells his son to burn the skin. Once she has fled, the prince lets go at the first hut when he sees a snake. At the second hut, an eel slips through his fingers. Each transformation gives the princess a different way to escape, so the recurring encounters play out differently.
Dated records and sources
Country pages
Origin
Black Horse. The Frog Princess. https://blackhorsestories.com/en/atlas-tale-polish-frog-princess/