“So I just have to kiss you and you’re human again?”
“Well, not exactly.”
“What do you mean ‘not exactly’? Either you’re an enchanted prince or you aren’t.”
“You see, before being cursed into my present state, I’d been enspelled into the form of a rat. Between one thing and another, I eventually became Prince of Rats, only to fall afoul of a separate, unrelated curse that turned me into a toad. There’s a very slight possibility that your kiss may dispel only the latter enchantment.”
“Okay, but if we break that curse, too, then you’ll be human again?”
“Well…”
[Daisy chain of 21 curses ommitted.]
…
“And after we take me to see my ancestors in the northern lights, I’ll be able to lift the curse that turned me into a bear and I’ll be human again, yes.”
“No more curses?”
“Well, yes, but actually no. There’s one more after that.”
“What? What could possibly be left?”
“I was originally a capybara cursed to take human form.”
“You’re a capybara.”
“No, I’m a toad. Break this curse I’ll be a rat, break a few more I’ll be human and we can stop there.”
