diff --git a/froofle/protobuf/text_format.py b/froofle/protobuf/text_format.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1c4cadf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/froofle/protobuf/text_format.py
@@ -0,0 +1,125 @@
+# Protocol Buffers - Google's data interchange format
+# Copyright 2008 Google Inc.  All rights reserved.
+# http://code.google.com/p/protobuf/
+#
+# Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
+# modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are
+# met:
+#
+#     * Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright
+# notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
+#     * Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above
+# copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer
+# in the documentation and/or other materials provided with the
+# distribution.
+#     * Neither the name of Google Inc. nor the names of its
+# contributors may be used to endorse or promote products derived from
+# this software without specific prior written permission.
+#
+# THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS
+# "AS IS" AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT
+# LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR
+# A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT
+# OWNER OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL,
+# SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT
+# LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE,
+# DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY
+# THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT
+# (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE
+# OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
+
+"""Contains routines for printing protocol messages in text format."""
+
+__author__ = 'kenton@google.com (Kenton Varda)'
+
+import cStringIO
+
+from froofle.protobuf import descriptor
+
+__all__ = [ 'MessageToString', 'PrintMessage', 'PrintField', 'PrintFieldValue' ]
+
+def MessageToString(message):
+  out = cStringIO.StringIO()
+  PrintMessage(message, out)
+  result = out.getvalue()
+  out.close()
+  return result
+
+def PrintMessage(message, out, indent = 0):
+  for field, value in message.ListFields():
+    if field.label == descriptor.FieldDescriptor.LABEL_REPEATED:
+      for element in value:
+        PrintField(field, element, out, indent)
+    else:
+      PrintField(field, value, out, indent)
+
+def PrintField(field, value, out, indent = 0):
+  """Print a single field name/value pair.  For repeated fields, the value
+  should be a single element."""
+
+  out.write(' ' * indent);
+  if field.is_extension:
+    out.write('[')
+    if (field.containing_type.GetOptions().message_set_wire_format and
+        field.type == descriptor.FieldDescriptor.TYPE_MESSAGE and
+        field.message_type == field.extension_scope and
+        field.label == descriptor.FieldDescriptor.LABEL_OPTIONAL):
+      out.write(field.message_type.full_name)
+    else:
+      out.write(field.full_name)
+    out.write(']')
+  elif field.type == descriptor.FieldDescriptor.TYPE_GROUP:
+    # For groups, use the capitalized name.
+    out.write(field.message_type.name)
+  else:
+    out.write(field.name)
+
+  if field.cpp_type != descriptor.FieldDescriptor.CPPTYPE_MESSAGE:
+    # The colon is optional in this case, but our cross-language golden files
+    # don't include it.
+    out.write(': ')
+
+  PrintFieldValue(field, value, out, indent)
+  out.write('\n')
+
+def PrintFieldValue(field, value, out, indent = 0):
+  """Print a single field value (not including name).  For repeated fields,
+  the value should be a single element."""
+
+  if field.cpp_type == descriptor.FieldDescriptor.CPPTYPE_MESSAGE:
+    out.write(' {\n')
+    PrintMessage(value, out, indent + 2)
+    out.write(' ' * indent + '}')
+  elif field.cpp_type == descriptor.FieldDescriptor.CPPTYPE_ENUM:
+    out.write(field.enum_type.values_by_number[value].name)
+  elif field.cpp_type == descriptor.FieldDescriptor.CPPTYPE_STRING:
+    out.write('\"')
+    out.write(_CEscape(value))
+    out.write('\"')
+  elif field.cpp_type == descriptor.FieldDescriptor.CPPTYPE_BOOL:
+    if value:
+      out.write("true")
+    else:
+      out.write("false")
+  else:
+    out.write(str(value))
+
+# text.encode('string_escape') does not seem to satisfy our needs as it
+# encodes unprintable characters using two-digit hex escapes whereas our
+# C++ unescaping function allows hex escapes to be any length.  So,
+# "\0011".encode('string_escape') ends up being "\\x011", which will be
+# decoded in C++ as a single-character string with char code 0x11.
+def _CEscape(text):
+  def escape(c):
+    o = ord(c)
+    if o == 10: return r"\n"   # optional escape
+    if o == 13: return r"\r"   # optional escape
+    if o ==  9: return r"\t"   # optional escape
+    if o == 39: return r"\'"   # optional escape
+
+    if o == 34: return r'\"'   # necessary escape
+    if o == 92: return r"\\"   # necessary escape
+
+    if o >= 127 or o < 32: return "\\%03o" % o # necessary escapes
+    return c
+  return "".join([escape(c) for c in text])