Long time ago there was a tsar who had three sons. When they grew up he called them to him and said: "I want you to marry now so that I can see my grandchildren before I die."
"Very well, father! Give us your blessing and say whom you want us to marry," replied the sons.
"Let each of you take an arrow, go to the open field and shoot it into the sky. Wherever the arrow falls will lie his destiny," said the Tsar. The sons bowed to their father and did as they were told. The eldest son's arrow fell in a boyar's courtyard and was picked up by the boyar's daughter. The middle son's arrow fell in a rich merchant's yard and was picked up by the merchant's daughter. As for the youngest son, Tsarevich Ivan, his arrow flew up and away he knew not where. He went in search of it and walked until he reached a marsh. To his amazement there was a frog siting on f leaf with the arrow in its mouth. The Tsarevich said to the frog: " Frog, Frog, give me back my arrow."
The frog replied, "I will if you marry me!"
"What do you mean?" asked Ivan. "How can I marry a frog?"
"You must," replied the frog. "I'm your predestined bride."
Tsarevich Ivan was greatly disappointed. But there was nothing to be done, so he picked up the frog and carried it home.
Three weddings were then celebrated. The frog was held on a dish.
Some time passed. The Tsar called his sons to his side and told them that he wanted each of their wives to sew a shirt for him so that he could see which the best needlewoman.
The sons took leave of their father with a low bow. Tsarevich Ivan came home, sat down and hung his head. The frog hopped over the floor and up to him and asked him why he was so unhappy. Ivan told her about his father's request, and the frog said, "Do not grieve, Ivan, but go to bed, for morning is wiser than evening."
Tsarevich went to bed, and the frog hopped out to the porch, cast off her frog skin and turned into a maiden more beautiful than any eye had seen or tongue could speak of.
She clapped her hands and cried out: "Ladies-in-waiting! Set to work without delay, sew me a shirt by tomorrow morning, like those my own father used to wear."
In the morning Tsarevich Ivan awoke, and there was the frog hopping about on the floor but the shirt was lying ready on the table.
Ivan was overjoyed. He took the shirt and went to his father. His brothers were already there. The eldest son laid out his wife's shirt, and the Tsar said that it would do only for a peasant. The middle son laid out his wife's shirt, and the Tsar said it was only fit to be worn to the baths.
Then Tsarevich Ivan laid out his shirt, beautifully embroidered all over. The Tsar examined it and said: "This is indeed a shirt to wear on feast-days!"
The two elder sons went home and spoke to their wives. And the wives became thoughtful.
Some time later, the Tsar again called his sons together and bade them have their wives bake bread by the following morning, since he wanted to know which of them cooked the best.
In the -meantime, the two sisters-in-law who had laughed at the frog at first, sent an old woman who worked in the kitchen to spy on the frog and see how she backed her bread. The frog was aware of this. So she kneaded some dough, lifted the oven lid and threw the dough down the hole. The old woman ran to the two sisters-in-law and told them what she had seen, and they did as the frog had done.
The frog hopped out to the porch, turned into a maiden and ordered her ladies-in-waiting to bake the finest soft white bread possible, the kind she had eaten in her own father's house.
In the morning, when Ivan awoke, the bread was already lying on the table, beautifully decorated. There were figures on the sides and towns with walls and towers on the top.
Ivan was overjoyed. He wrapped the bread in an embroidered towel and took it to his father. The Tsar looked at the formless charred lump brought by his elder son and sent it to the kitchen. The same happened with the middle son's bread. When he looked at and tasted Ivan's bread he said: "This is what I call bread. It is fit for feast-days!" After that the Tsar decided to hold a ball, he wanted to see which of his daughters-in-law danced best.
Once again Tsarevich Ivan came home greatly disappointed. The frog hopped up to him and asked why he was so sad. Ivan told her of father's desire and became even sadder as he did not know how he could go to the ball with a frog.
The frog told Ivan not to grieve to go to the feast alone. She would follow later. When he heard a great thundering, he was not to be afraid but should say, "This is my Frog, riding in her carriage." So Tsarevich Ivan went to the feast alone, and his elder brothers came with their wives, dressed in their finest clothes, with their brows blackened and cheeks painted rosy. They all stood and made fun of Ivan.
"Why are you here alone?" they teased. "You could have brought your wife in a handkerchief." As they sat down to feast at spacious tables, there was such a tramping and thundering that the palace shook and trembled. All the guests were frightened, but Tsarevich Ivan said: "Don't be afraid, good folks, it is my dear little Frog arriving in her carriage." Up to the portal of the palace came a gilded carriage, drawn by six white horses, and out of it stepped a young lady. And so beautiful was she that you would not be able to picture her and no words could describe her. She was a true wonder to behold!
The guests began eating and drinking. The maiden drank from her glass and poured the last drops into her left sleeve. She ate some swan meat and put the bones into her right sleeve. The wives of the elder sons saw what she did and did the same.
Soon the time came to dance. The maiden was invited to dance first. She danced and whirled and circled round and round, and everyone watched and marvelled. She waved her left sleeve and a lake appeared; she waved her right sleeve and white swans appeared on the lake. Everyone was amazed.
Then the wives of the two elder sons began dancing. They waved their left sleeves and splashed wine over the guests; they waved their right sleeves and bones flew at the guests. One bone hit the Tsar in the eye, he became very angry and drove both of them away.
In the meantime Ivan slipped out, ran home, found the frog skin and threw it into the fire.
When the maiden came home and saw that her frog skin was gone, she sat down on a bench and sadly told Ivan that if he had waited but three more days, she would have been his forever. But now she would have to bid him farewell. If he wanted to see her again, he would have to seek her over the hill and faraway.
She turned into a grey bird and flew out the window.
Ivan wept and grieved for a long time, then one morning he sought leave of his father and set off he knew not where to seek his wife. No one knows how long he walked before he met a little old man. Ivan told the man of his troubles and the little old man wanted to help him. He gave a ball of thread to Ivan and told him to follow it without fear wherever it rolled.
In an open field he met a bear. He took aim and was about to shoot it, but the bear spoke to him in a human voice and said, "Do not kill me, Ivan, you may have need of me some day."
Ivan took pity of the bear, and let him go. He also spared a drake and a hare. He went furhter and came to the blue sea where he saw a pike lying on a sandy shore gasping for breath. The pike begged Ivan to throw it back into the blue sea, promising that some day it would repay him for his kindness.
Tsarevich Ivan threw the pike into water and walked along the shore. Whether a long time passed by or a little time, no one knows, but by and by the ball of thread rolled into a forest, and there in the forest he found a little hut standing on chicken legs. In that hut Baba-Yaga. A witch, lived. She asked him where he was going and told him that she knew where the maiden was but that Koschey-the-deathless had her in his power.
She told him that it would not be easy to get the battle of Koschey, for his death lay at the point of a needle, the needle was in an egg, the egg was in a duck, the duck was in a hare and the hare was in a stone chest which was at the top of a tall oak-tree, which Koschey-the-Deathless guarded fearlessly.
In the morning Baba-Yaga told him where the tall oak-tree with the stone chest at the top of it.
All of a sudden the bear appeared, and it pulled out the oak-tree, roots and all. Down fell the chest, and it broke open. Out of the chest sprang a hare, and away it ran as fast as it could. But another hare appeared and chased it. It caught up the first hare and tore it to bits. Out of the hare flew a duck, and it soared up into the sky. But in a thrice, the drake was upon it, and it struck the duck so hard that it dropped an egg, and the egg fell into the deep blue sea.
At this Tsarevich grew bewildered, for how in the world could he find the egg at the bottom of the sea? But all at once the pike came swimming to the shore with the egg in its mouth.
Ivan checked the egg, took out the needle and began to bend it to break off the point. Finally, he succeeded, and Koschey fell dead at his feet. The Frog Princess ran out of the palace and kissed the Tsarevich. They returned home where they lived together happily ever after.

(Based on Russian folk tale. English language retelling was done by Vadim Shchanitsyn)