at that a little toad hopped out from under the stone , and said : " lovely maiden , why do you sit here and weep ? " and the princess answered : " it is my hard fate to weep and never be happy again . first of all i have lost the love of my heart , and now i can no longer find my way back to the castle . so i must perish of hunger here , or else be devoured by wild beasts . " " o , " said the toad , " if that is all that troubles you , i can help you ! if you will promise to be my dearest friend , i will show you the way . " but that the princess did not want to do . she replied : " ask of me what you will , save that alone . i have never loved any one more than my lame dog , and so long as i live will never love any one else better . " with that she rose , wept bitterly , and continued her way . but the toad looked after her in a friendly manner , laughed to himself , and once more crept under his stone . after the king 's daughter had wandered on for a long , long way , and still saw nothing but forest and wilderness , she grew very tired . she once more sat down on a stone , rested her chin on her hand , and prayed for death , since it was no longer possible for her to live with her husband . suddenly there was a rustling in the bushes , and she saw a big gray wolf coming directly toward her . she was much frightened , since her one thought was that the wolf intended to devour her . but the wolf stopped , wagged his tail , and said : " proud maiden , why do you sit here and weep so bitterly ? " the princess answered : " it is my hard fate to weep and never be happy again . first of all i have lost my heart 's dearest , and now i can not find my way back to the castle and must perish of hunger , or be devoured by wild beasts . " " o , " said the wolf , " if that is all that troubles you , i can help you ! let me be your best friend and i will show you the way . " but that did not suit the princess , and she replied : " ask of me what you will , save that alone . i have never loved any one more than my lame dog , and so long as i live i will never love any one else better . " with that she rose , weeping bitterly , and continued on her way . but the wolf looked after her in a friendly manner , laughed to himself and ran off hastily . after the princess had once more wandered for a long time in the wilderness , she was again so wearied and exhausted that she could not go on . she sat down on a stone , wrung her hands , and wished for death , since she could no longer live with her husband . at that moment she heard a hollow roaring that made the earth tremble , and a monstrous big lion appeared and came directly toward her . now she was much frightened ; for what else could she think but that the lion would tear her to pieces ? but the beast was so weighed down with heavy iron chains that he could scarcely drag himself along , and the chains clashed at either side when he moved . when the lion finally reached the princess he stopped , wagged his tail , and asked : " beautiful maiden , why do you sit here and weep so bitterly ? " the princess answered : " it is my hard fate to weep and never be happy again . first of all i have lost my heart 's dearest , and now i can not find my way to the castle , and must perish of hunger , or be devoured by wild beasts . " " o , " said the lion , " if that is all that troubles you , i can help you ! if you will loose my chains and make me your best friend , i will show you the way . " but the princess was so terrified that she could not answer the lion , far less venture to draw near him . then she heard a clear voice sounding from the forest : it was a little nightingale , who sat among the branches and sang : " maiden , maiden , loose his chains ! " 
a little toad .
who offered their help to the princess as she wept in the forest ?
who offered their help to the princess as she wept in the forest ?