“In fairy tales, the princesses kiss the frogs, and the frogs become princes. In real life, the pricesses kiss princes, and the princes turn into frogs.”

— Paulo Coelho, book By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept

By The River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept (1994)
Variant: There's nothing deeper than love. In fairy tales, the princesses kiss the frogs, and the frogs become princes. In real life, the princesses kiss princes, and the princes turn into frogs.
Source: By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept

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Paulo Coelho844

Brazilian lyricist and novelist 1947

Michael Kurland book The Unicorn Girl

Source: The Unicorn Girl (1969), Chapter 10 (p. 137)

“Not a frog, I hope?” he asked…She shook her head. “No. And if it was I wouldn’t kiss it, I promise you. I might kiss a prince if I could be sure he’d turn into a frog, but not the other way around.”

Eva Ibbotson book A Song for Summer

Source: A Song for Summer

“You don't always have to kiss a lot of frogs to recognize a prince when you find one

-Henrietta Barett”

Julia Quinn (1970) American novelist

Source: Minx

“We are born princes and the civilizing process makes us frogs.”

Eric Berne (1910–1970) Canadian psychiatrist

“You could say it like was like a fairy tale at the time; Andy would be the good fairy, and Jim would play the giant, Brian would be the witch, Paul McCartney would be the frog who turns into a prince, no, it would have to be the other way round.”

Nico (1938–1988) German musician, model and actress, one of Warhol's superstars

Describing her tumultuous experiences of 1967, as quoted in Life and Lies of an Icon (1995) by Richard Witts.
Context: You could say it like was like a fairy tale at the time; Andy would be the good fairy, and Jim would play the giant, Brian would be the witch, Paul McCartney would be the frog who turns into a prince, no, it would have to be the other way round. Well, it didn't seem like a fairy tale at the time. It was a lot of hassle. But I learned a lot of things, and I began to compose my own songs.