A tale as old as time though a slightly different beast

The most well known space that amphibians take up in our society is the frog prince story.  We all know the story of the handsome prince getting turned into a frog for having some major character flaw.  The only way he can break the spell is if he gets a princess to kiss him when he is at his ugliest.   I think the main reason a frog, in particular, is part of this story is because their life cycle is extremely well known.  Throughout a frogs life they metamorphose and transform into their different life stages.  Since frogs are involved in these natural transformations, it makes them a justifiable animal to go back and forth between being human, frog, and then human again.  Not to mention the symbolic character change the prince needs to go through in order to become his “true” self.  Unfortunately I do not think most people think of the transformative properties of frogs when they hear this fairytale.  What most people take away from this is that frogs are gross and slimy and undesirable.  Perhaps this is where peoples distaste for herps originated.  When kids are first exposed to amphibians and reptiles it is most likely some combination of finding them in a creek or garden or watching things about them on TV.  If the things on TV are all about them being these unwelcomed and unwanted creatures, that is going to be the image stuck in people’s minds about them.

https://www.fanpop.com/clubs/the-princess-and-the-frog/images/9917875/title/kiss-fanart