I have seen many things, and some of them are very dark, but the little princess was my joy. Her beauty astonished me every time I shone on her.

She had a favorite toy, a golden ball, the spitting image of me.

But then one day, her golden ball disappeared. It was swallowed up into a darkness that my light could not penetrate. The joy of the princess, my joy, was lost.

The Sun Ball in The Frog King, Grimms. Illustration by Hans Arnold.