"Kiss me, fair maiden, and a prince I shall be," the frog croaked insistently, "we shall wed, and you will have a coronet and jewels and silks to wear!"

The young cook glared, all she wanted to do was collect lotus buds for the soup, and here was all this fancy talk of being a princess, so she grabbed the talkative amphibian who couldn't take no for an answer.

"I make an excellent frog legs and spaghetti and frog meatballs, and you're a perfect size-" she said calmly, then watched the creature go still before squirming out of her hands in panic into the safety of the pond, and honestly, she sighed to herself, why must a simple no need the threat of violence to be taken seriously?