The Princess & the Pea

#####The Princess & the Pea

long ago, a young prince lived in a far-off land. But he was not a very happy prince, because he could not find a real princess to marry.

“Oh, you’re much too fussy!” said the queen. “I’ve introduced you to the most beautiful, the most clever, the most charming princesses from here, there and everywhere, but you’re never satisfied.”

“I’m very grateful to you, mother,” the prince replied, “but a real princess is very rare. I’m sure I’ll find her one day.”

In his heart, he knew that somewhere, sometime he would meet her. He would never stop searching.

“I’ve met many girls who call themselves a princess,” he said. “The whole world calls them princesses. Some are very beautiful, some are very clever. Many are very charming. But my princess will be all these things and more!”

For a year he sailed around the world in search of his perfect bride. He visited palaces in Persia and Peru, castles in China and Spain. But he did not find the face he was looking for.

When he returned to his own country, sunny summer was darkening into cold, grey winter.

One night, not long after his return, there was a terrible storm. Thunder roared, lightning flashed, and the icy wind crept in through every window and door in the palace. The prince had gone to bed to keep warm, while the king and queen sat downstairs, reading.

The old king shivered as he pulled his chair closer to the fire. “I’m glad I’m wrapped up here in the warm. I feel very sorry for any of my subjects who are caught in this awful weather.”

“Nobody with any sense would be out on such a dreadful night,” replied the queen.

Hardly had she spoken when they both heard a knock on the door. And then again, even louder. The king hurried to the hall. He drew back all the bolts and with a great heave pulled the door open. A gust of wind blew freezing sleet into the hall and a flash of lightning lit up the porch.

“Brrrh!” shivered the king. And then, peering into the darkness: “Well, bless my soul! Who are you, my poor girl?”

There, with the storm raging all around her, stood a pretty young girl. Her dress was soaked through, and her shoes were covered in mud. Her long, golden hair hung in damp ringlets round her shoulders.

“I’m a princess,” the stranger replied, her teeth chattering.

“Yes, yes, my dear, of course you are,” the king smiled. “Well, you had better come in. I must say, though, I’ve never known a princess to arrive in anything but a grand carriage.

“No, nor have I,” thought the queen. “I’ll soon find out if she’s a real princess or not.”

So while the young stranger was warming herself in front of the fire, enjoying a hot meal, the queen and her maids set to work upstairs. First they removed all the covers from the bed in one of the guest rooms. Then the queen placed a dried pea on the mattress.

After that they turned out all the cupboards in the palace until they found twenty more mattresses. These they placed, one by one, on top of the small, hard pea.

There were mattresses of every colour of the rainbow, of every shape and size, and each one was quite thick enough for an ordinary person to sleep on in perfect comfort. You can imagine what a strange sight they made.

“That’s it,” said the queen. “We’ll soon see if she’s a real princess or not.” And she went back downstairs.

“I’ve prepared a bed for you,” she told the lovely stranger. “I’m sure you’ll have a good night’s rest.”

So the girl went upstairs, changed into a nightdress, and climbed the ladder to reach her high bed.

The storm died away overnight.

The queen was smiling to herself when the visitor came down to breakfast.

“And how did you sleep, my dear?” she asked as the girl sat down at the table.

“I’m sorry to say that I didn’t sleep well at all,” replied the stranger. “It sounds very rude, but even with all those mattresses I was still uncomfortable.”

“But that’s impossible,” said the king. “You had the best bed in the palace!”

The girl blushed, afraid of sounding ungrateful. “Well, I felt as if I was lying on a pebble. And this morning, I’m black and blue all over.”

The queen could hardly believe her ears. “Then you are indeed a princess!” she cried. “Only a royal person could have such tender and sensitive skin. Only a real princess could feel a dried pea through twenty-one mattresses!”

That was exactly what the prince thought, too. When he came into the breakfast room, he took one look at the beautiful girl and knew at once she was the one he had been dreaming of.

He did not need to be introduced. He needed no dried pea, no twenty-one mattresses for proof. His heart told him at once that he had found his true princess.

The king proclaimed a holiday for everyone in the land, so that they could all celebrate the wedding of the prince and princess.

And the prince made sure the pea was put on display in a glass case in the city square for all to see.

And do you know…to this day it is still there, to remind people of his one and only love, the real princess.