If you don’t like eyes or eyeballs, consider scrolling past this one.

Once upon a time, there was a Prince. He was the youngest son and, rather than spend his time cooped up in the royal palace, the Prince set out to travel the world with a loyal servant by his side.

During his travels, he had occasion to stay in the court of a foreign king. While doing so, the Prince happened upon the princess of a distant land. She covered her face and wept over the loss of her golden ball, which had fallen down a well.

Though he could not see her face, so charmed by her sorrow was he that the Prince swore he would reclaim her ball. So saying, he jumped into the well, riding the bucket into the deep.

The Prince found himself in a corridor filled with water. The water was filled with pulsating balls that at first looked like eyeballs, but upon closer inspection, were simply to be the eggs of tadpoles.

Still, as he walked through the sea of eggs, he felt as if they were staring at him—eyeballs, rather than eggs, rolling about beneath his boots. It was an eerie feeling that turned his innards in the most unnatural way. Hurrying onwards, he soon came upon the golden ball.

Stretching out a hand, the Prince picked up the golden ball, only to recoil in horror. Though the ball looked golden, its surface was soft and fleshy. With a sickening, meaty sound, the solid looking ball tore open holes in itself—empty pits of blackness.

The tadpole eggs began to froth, and swarmed to fill the empty holes, rolling up the Prince’s body. Sliding into the golden ball, they appeared to stare outwards in all directions—resembling an eyeball with many eyes hewn into itself.

Then the faux eyes turned towards the Prince, and he found himself transfixed by their gaze, tumbling into the egg filled waters. His hands were now that of a frog. The only thing that remained human were his eyes and his teeth.

Gathering up the golden eyeball, the Frog Prince hopped quickly to the bucket and pulled himself out of the darkness.

The Princess took the eyeball up with a smile, far too many fingers than is right wrapping about the golden globe, which she placed into her empty socket. Then she turned on her heel and whisked herself off with her witchcraft, leaving the Frog Prince alone to ponder.

Some royal gardeners chanced upon the frog, and, seeing it sitting like a human, head in its hands, human eyes gazing out, human teeth chattering as it spoke to itself, they took it to be a demon. After all, it certainly was no frog—likewise, it was no man. With tools in hand, they made to kill the frog, and he was obliged to flee.

A frog’s legs are no match for a human’s long strides, and soon enough, they trapped the frog. However, as they were about to deliver death to the hapless Prince, Faithful Heinrich, recognizing his Master even in his froggy form as all good servants are able to do, snatched up the Prince and fled with him. Together, they set off to break the curse.