abhi

Once there was a young princess who was sitting beside a small pond. Suddenly, she dropped a golden ball, which rolled into the pond.

Suddenly she heard a voice say, "I can get your ball for you, princess."

The frog dived under the water and soon emerged with the golden ball in his mouth. He spit the ball and continued, "You see, I am not really a frog at all. I'm really a man, but an evil sorcerer has cast a spell on me. And the only thing that can break this spell is a kiss from a princess."

The princess bent down and kissed the frog on the forehead. Instantly the frog grew and changed into a man wearing a golf shirt and loud plaid pants -- middle-aged.

The princess was taken aback. "I'm sorry if this sounds a little classist," she stammered, "but...what I mean to say is... don't sorcerers usually cast their spells on princes?"

"Ordinarily, yes," he said, "but this time the target was just an innocent real estate developer, and that’s me… The sorcerer thought I was cheating him in a property-line dispute. So he invited me out for a round of golf, and just as I was about to tee off, he transformed me.

But my time as a frog wasn't wasted, you know. I've gotten to know every square inch of these woods, and I think it would be ideal for office park/condominiums/ a 4-star hotel/ resort complex. The location's great and the numbers crunch perfectly!

The bank wouldn't lend any money to a frog, but now that I'm in human form again, they'll be eating out of my hand. Oh, will that be sweet! And let me tell you, this is going to be a big project! Just drain the pond, cut down about 80 percent of the trees, get easements for..."

The frog developer was cut short when the princess shoved her golden ball back into his mouth. She then pushed him back underwater and held him there until he stopped thrashing…

And while someone might have noticed that the frog was gone, no one ever missed the real estate developer.