The Princess and the Pea

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Once upon a time, in a faraway kingdom, there lived a prince who was searching for a true princess to marry. He traveled to many lands, meeting numerous princesses, but he was never quite sure if they were real princesses. There was always something that didn’t seem right.

One stormy night, as the rain poured down and the wind howled around the castle, there was a sudden knock at the door. The old king went to open it. Standing outside was a young woman, drenched from head to toe. Water streamed from her hair and clothes, and she looked very tired and cold.

“I am a princess,” she said, “and I have lost my way in this terrible storm. May I stay here for the night?”

The queen, who was wise and kind, invited her in. She thought to herself, “We shall see if she is a real princess.” The queen went to the guest bedroom and took all the bedding off the bedstead. Then she laid a single pea on the bedframe. She took twenty mattresses and piled them on top of the pea, and then added twenty eider-down beds on top of the mattresses.

“Now,” said the queen, “let’s see if she is a true princess.”

The young woman was shown to the bedroom. She looked at the towering bed with wide eyes but didn’t complain. She climbed up the ladder to the top and settled in for the night.

The next morning, the queen asked her how she had slept. The princess replied, “Oh, very badly! I hardly closed my eyes all night. Heaven knows what was in the bed, but I was lying on something hard, and now I am black and blue all over. It was dreadful!”

The queen and the prince knew she must be a real princess, since she had felt the pea right through the twenty mattresses and the twenty eider-down beds. Only a real princess could be so sensitive.

The prince was overjoyed. He had finally found a true princess. They invited her to stay longer, and over the next few days, the prince and the princess spent time together, talking and laughing. The more the prince got to know her, the more he was certain she was the one he had been searching for.

The king and queen arranged a grand celebration for their engagement. The entire kingdom rejoiced, for the prince had found his true princess. They were married in a splendid ceremony, with music, dancing, and feasting that lasted for days.

The pea was put in a museum, where it can still be seen to this day, if no one has taken it. And so, the prince and the princess lived happily ever after, ruling their kingdom with wisdom and kindness.

The tale of the princess and the pea was told for generations, reminding everyone that true nobility comes from within, and that sometimes, the smallest things can reveal the greatest truths.

The end.

Follow-Up Questions:

• How did the queen test if the young woman was a real princess?
• What did the princess feel that proved she was a real princess?
• What lesson did the prince and his kingdom learn from this experience?