The Princess and the Pea

Once upon a time, there lived a prince who wanted to marry a real princess. Not just any princess—a REAL one!

The prince traveled all around the world. He met princesses who were tall and princesses who were small. He met princesses who loved to dance and princesses who loved to read. But something was always wrong. Were they real princesses? He could never be quite sure.

The prince came home feeling sad. "I'll never find a real princess," he sighed.

One night, a terrible storm crashed over the kingdom. BOOM went the thunder! SPLASH went the rain! The wind howled like a hungry wolf. Lightning lit up the dark sky.

Suddenly, someone knocked on the castle door. KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

The old king went to open it. There stood a young woman, dripping wet from head to toe.

Water ran down her hair and into her shoes. Squish, squish, squish went her feet.

"Please," she said, shivering. "May I stay here tonight? The storm is so fierce!"

"Of course, dear," said the kind king. "Come inside and get warm."

The young woman told them she was a princess. She looked very polite and spoke in a gentle voice. But with her messy hair and muddy dress, how could anyone tell?

The prince thought she seemed wonderful. His mother, the queen, wasn't so sure.

"Hmm," thought the clever queen. "I know how to find out if she's a REAL princess."

The queen went to the guest bedroom. She took all the blankets and sheets off the bed. Then she placed one tiny, round pea right in the middle of the mattress.

Next, she piled twenty soft mattresses on top of the pea.

One, two, three, four, five—all the way up to twenty! The bed was so tall it almost touched the ceiling!

Then the queen added twenty fluffy feather quilts on top. The bed looked like a giant, cozy cloud.

"Sleep well!" said the queen with a mysterious smile.

The princess needed a ladder to climb up to the bed! She snuggled under the quilts and closed her eyes.

The next morning, everyone gathered for breakfast. The princess came down the stairs, yawning.

"Good morning! Did you sleep well?" asked the queen.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," said the princess, rubbing her back. "I hardly slept at all! There was something hard in the bed. It poked and poked me all night long. I'm black and blue all over! It was quite uncomfortable."

The queen clapped her hands with joy. The king jumped up from his chair. The prince's face lit up with the biggest smile.

"You ARE a real princess!" they all shouted.

Only a real princess could be so sensitive that she could feel one tiny pea through twenty mattresses and twenty quilts!

The prince was so happy he danced around the room. "Will you marry me?" he asked.

The princess smiled and said yes. She was delighted to marry such a kind prince who had such a warm family.

They had a beautiful wedding with flowers, music, and cake.

Everyone in the kingdom celebrated.

The prince and princess lived happily together. And do you know what? They kept that special little pea in a glass case in the royal museum, where everyone could see it.

It's probably still there today—unless someone has taken it!

And that's how the prince finally found his real princess, all because of one tiny pea and a very clever queen.