Tiana looked around her restaurant’s kitchen and smiled. A pot of gumbo bubbled on the stove. Loaves of fresh-baked bread steamed on a cooling rack. A bright pile of carrots sat on the cutting board, ready to be cut up. Amazing smells rose from every corner of the kitchen. The scene made Tiana’s heart glow…and her nose twitch.

Outside, the first customers were arriving at Tiana’s Palace for Sunday dinner. It was the restaurant’s busiest night of the week. Tiana wanted to make sure that everyone got a great meal. She bustled around the kitchen, checking on all the dishes.

“Needs lemon juice,” she decided, tasting the gumbo. She sliced a lemon in half and squeezed some juice into the pot.

She sampled it again and sighed happily. “There, perfect.”

Next Tiana lifted a loaf of bread off the rack. She tapped her finger on its crusty bottom, smiling at the hollow thunk it made. It was ready to eat.

Tiana sifted some fine white sugar over the beignets as a finishing touch. Now they were ready, too.

Gazing around the kitchen, Tiana did a final tally. “The gumbo is ready. The soup is done. The bread is baked. We’ve got hot beignets and cold sweet tea.…”

Dinner was nearly ready. All that was left to prepare was the salad and the carrots.

Tiana quickly rinsed some salad greens and set them aside. Then she began chopping the carrots. She hummed a little as she worked. Music was a big part of Tiana’s life—especially jazz music. After all, she lived in New Orleans. You couldn’t walk down the street here without stumbling across a jazz band playing a tune.

But Tiana’s life had more music in it than most, even for New Orleans. Her friend Louis, an alligator, was the best jazz trumpeter around. And her husband, Naveen, played the ukulele with Louis’s band at Tiana’s Palace.

Naveen wasn’t just a musician, of course. He was also a prince…and that made Tiana a princess. She still wasn’t used to it. “Princess Tiana!” Tiana laughed as she tossed the chopped carrots into a hot pan. What a strange twist of fate! But that was life. Tiana had learned that no matter how much you planned, you could never guess what was coming.

All her life, Tiana had worked as hard as she could, saving up money to open a restaurant. She’d had it all planned out. But her plan had not included being turned into a frog…or falling in love with another frog, who was really a human prince! Luckily, Tiana and Naveen had become human again, with the help of Mama Odie, a magic woman who lived in the bayou.

No wonder my plan went astray, Tiana thought. Nobody could plan for Mama Odie. She was just too odd! Tiana shook her head and started humming again. The carrots sizzled in the hot butter as though they were humming along with her.

Suddenly Tiana realized it wasn’t just the carrots—another voice had joined hers. She turned around. Prince Naveen had come into the kitchen and was singing along with Tiana.

“Hello, my sweet princess,” Naveen said, swooping down for a quick kiss.

Tiana smiled up at him. “You know I’m happy to see you,” she said, “but shouldn’t you be out there?” Tiana pointed to the dining room, where Louis’s band, the Firefly Five, was playing for the guests.

“Louis is playing a solo,” Naveen explained. Tiana smiled again and rolled her eyes. Louis’s solos could go on for a while. “So I have plenty of time,” Naveen said.

“Then do me a favor,” Tiana said. She fished a soft-cooked carrot out of the pan. “Taste this. How is it?”

“Hmm.” Naveen chewed thoughtfully. “Well…”

“Yes?” Tiana prompted.

“It’s just…” Naveen trailed off. He frowned.

“What?” Tiana demanded. “More salt? Too much salt? More dill? Pepper? What?” She was getting worried.

“No.…” Naveen said. His frown became more of a scowl. “It’s—what’s the word…?” He waved his hands helplessly.

“Overcooked?” Tiana guessed. “Not cooked enough? Awful? Disgusting?” Now she was really panicking.

“Perfect!” Naveen cried. “That’s the word. Perfect!”

Tiana heaved a sigh of relief. She found Naveen’s broken English charming…most of the time. But Sunday dinners always made her nervous. There was just so much that could go wrong!

“Thank you,” she said, kissing his cheek.

“Thank you,” he said, winking. “I think Louis is finally finishing his solo.” Out in the dining room, Tiana could hear Louis playing his heart out.

“Get out there, then,” Tiana said. She pushed Naveen playfully. “Shoo!”

“Torn between my two great loves…” Naveen said. He put his hand over his heart dramatically. “Music and my princess!”

Tiana blew him a kiss. Then she turned back to her carrots. She gave them one last stir before she turned the flame off. Her life wasn’t what she’d planned for…it was even better. Her restaurant was a hit. Her best friend, Charlotte, was always there for her. And her husband was a prince—literally.

“Well,” Tiana said to herself as she started preparing bowls of salad, “Time for dinner!”

But dinner was not ready to be served after all. As Tiana picked up the first salad bowl, a flamingo flew through the window and landed right in her basket of fresh, hot beignets.